Naruto: Firebird
by Ellenlome
Summary: AU. The Yondaime Hokage died sealing the Kyuubi into a newborn child. Sixteen years later, Uzumaki Naruto's world is shattered and turned upsidedown once more, as the unbelievable truth is finally revealed.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I never have, and never will own Naruto. Period.. The plot and any original characters are mine though.

**This is an AU. Don't like, don't read.**

**Prologue**

"_Minato, this is folly! Please, I beg of you, reconsider!"_

"_Sarutobi-ojii-san, you know I have no choice. This…has to be done, if Konoha is to be saved."_

"_Don't be a fool, I can perform the jutsu as well as you! Let me take your place!"_

_The other shook his head, a small, sad smile on his face. "Ie. This is my duty as Yondaime Hokage."_

"_But-"_

_A raised hand, silently stopping the coming protest. "You have a family waiting for you. Loved ones. And you have more than earned your rest. It is my turn to protect the village."_

_Sarutobi looked at the young man, his successor, a man ready to throw all away to protect the village so precious to them…one of the reasons he'd chosen him. The blue eyes were full of regret, for not having more time to live, and fear, fear of the death he was running to so willingly. And yet…they were full of determination, the will of fire burning strong within their depths. And Sarutobi knew, knew that there was no turning back, no stopping him._

_Nevertheless, he had to try, if at least one more time._

"_What of Jiraiya? And Tsunade? You know she will break if you die tonight."_

_The man closed his eyes for a second, and took in a shuddering breath. "Sensei…will understand. And Hime-nee…my only hope is that she will forgive me, for leaving her." /alone, again/_

_The blue eyes opened, and Sarutobi sighed. It was a battle he could not win. "There is no guarantee that this will work," he said finally._

"_I know."_

"_And you will die whether it succeeds of not."_

"_I know."_

_Another stare, steel grey to sky blue, a sigh. _

"…_I will miss you, my friend…"_

_Two arms wound around the old man's figure, a last embrace from a man he considered family. "…I know." And the next instant he was gone, to face his death, and defend the village he so loved._

_A single tear fell, before Sarutobi Sasuke, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, turned and headed out himself, determined to, at least, be there for his friend in his last moments of life. _

_Or so he thought._

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** endprologue **

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**Japanese translations - I will only put new words down here, no sense repeating what was already said. And before anyone starts saying that some of these are unnecessary, please keep in mind that some people have been watching the show entirely in english or french, or whatever other language, so they've never heard the japanese terms. Thank you.**

Sandaime: the Third (Hokage)

Yondaime: the Fourth (Hokage)

Hokage: Fire Shadow

Ojii-san: Old man

Ie: No

Konohagakure no Sato: The Village Hidden in the Leaves

Hime-nee: literally, princess-sister (which makes a lot more sense in japanese). Yondaime's nickname for Tsunade. In my version of things, he picked the title 'Hime' from Jiraiya (who calls her Tsunade-hime). 'Nee' is short for 'onee-san' sister

-san: suffix signifying a certain degree of respect

Also, in Japanese the family name comes first, so Sarutobi Sasuke would be Sasuke Sarutobi if in Europe.

**Author's notes: **That's all for now. Provided someone shows interest in this, I'll continue the story. Right now this is just an experiment, as well as an attempt to get the plot bunnies to leave me alone .

Please keep in mind that this IS and WILL be an AU, so some things might not be as you remember them from the series – such as Sarutobi Asuma will still be alive, because I like him too much as a character.


	2. Chapter 1: Gathering storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did (sometimes)

**Disclaimer:**__I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did (sometimes). Plot is mine.

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words/_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream

**Chapter 1**

Naruto awoke with a gasp, sweat beading on his forehead, his eyes wide. '_What…?'_ Images from the dream /_nightmare/_ flooded his mind-

_Fire, destruction, __red, blood. Blood everywhere, dead bodies, his people, his friends, his family dying dying dead dead dead dead DEAD!!_

-he barely had time to lean to the side before bile rose and he reacquainted himself with his dinner. After several minutes, he heaved, breath coming in gasps. Another ten minutes, and the dizzyness finally passed, and he felt well enough to get up. Hands shaking, he poured himself a glass of water, gratefully gulping down the refreshing liquid.

'_What was that?'_

For a moment, he thought it might have been the Kyuubi's memory – it wouldn't have been the first time that something like that had happened. But no, the feelings of loss, anger, pain, **regret**, over the deaths of humans were not, _could not_ be the Kyuubi's. They had to be human, his feelings, but…

"…why did it feel like a memory?" He half-whispered to himself.

**oOo**

The next morning, the blond had nearly forgotten the nightmare. But the feelings of loss and regret hadn't totally dissipated, and his eyes were troubled. As he put the bread in the toaster and got the butter and an apple from the fridge, Naruto tried to remember what had so disturbed him about it. The most his memory would call forth was the color red, and that could be any number of things.

The kettle hissed, and he frowned, pouring himself a cup of tea, heavily laced with milk and plenty of sugar. He'd always liked his tea sweet, something Jiraiya had balked at. There was that time he'd tried to switch the tea with sake and-

'_I'm getting distracted again! Focus Naruto, focus! Now, what could red signify?'_

Kyuubi came to mind first. After all, the oversized furball was red in color. But it didn't coincide with the rest, so Naruto decided against it.

Next came blood. Now, that wasn't too unusual. Ninjas often dreamt of blood. It would also explain the feelings. But whose blood?

'_I shouldn't be so concerned about this. It's not the first time this has happened, ne?' _He smiled, a bit forced, the thought of one of his precious people nagging at him and leaving a taste of guilt in his mouth. '_I'll just train extra hard this morning. Maybe Lee will spar with me!'_

Foxy grin in full power, Naruto stepped outside, fully dressed and stretching, before jumping to the rooftops and making his way to the training grounds. It was five in the morning on June 18th, and the bowl-cut ninja would soon be starting his taijutsu training. Naruto really needed a good spar.

**oOo**

_He had studied really hard, and done as much research as he could. Now, after nearly three years, his new jutsu was finally taking shape. He concentrated the chakra to his hand, twisting it around like a mini-tornado. He nearly lost his focus as he infused more power into it, but gritted his teeth, refusing to give up. _

_Finally, it was ready, and he slammed his hand into a nearby tree, grinding it to dust. A proud grin made its way onto his face, threatening to split it in two._

"_What did you do, twerp?"_

_He turned towards the owner of the voice, who had just now stepped into the clearing, his grin never leaving his face._

"_Like my new jutsu sensei? I call it Rasengan!"_

**oOo**

Naruto was puzzled. Three days ago, he'd had another of those strange dreams. This one hadn't been as disturbing as the first one, and had left him with feelings of joy and pride. He could even remember it a bit. But why would he dream of the Rasengan? And as a _new_ jutsu? It didn't make sense. '_Maybe Ero-Sennin will know. I'll ask him when he comes back.'_

When Jiraiya came back three months later, Naruto had forgotten all about asking him, and the strange dreams kept on coming.

**oOo**

"…_and I've chosen you." Sandaime said, a smile on his face._

_His eyes widened, his brain trying to process what he had just been told before he started talking, words stumbling over one another in an attempt to get out faster._

"_But- I- Sandaime-sama, I'm honored, but, I, not ready! I, I'm not worthy, I-"_

_He was cut off by a chuckle__ from the old man, before Sarutobi leaned forward, his head resting on his crossed hands, and giving him a serious look, one not totally devoid of amusement. "My dear boy, I am the Hokage. Do you think I would make such a mistake as to chose one who is not worthy? No, I would not have made this decision if I didn't think you were capable."_

"_But (and he berated himself for doubting his Hokage, but the news had thrown him off balance, and dear God, how was he supposed to react?!) I am not powerful enough! Why not choose Orochimaru-sama? He his much more suited for this position than I am!"_

_There was a short silence, during which both sipped at their tea, the old man's black and slightly bitter, his white and overly sweet. Then: "There are…reasons why I haven't chosen my former student. It is true that he is very powerful, but he lacks the one quality that all Hokages share, and should have, and that you have in abundance."_

_He was confused, and his eyes said so. The old man chuckled again._

"_Heart, my friend. Orochimaru lacks heart. It is my hope that he will someday understand what I have tried to teach him, but until that time comes, I would not entrust him with the safety of this village. You on the other hand…you would sacrifice your all for those you care about, and I know for a fact that you care about Konoha and its inhabitants more than anything else, due to some of your…recent exploits."_

_He felt his cheeks burning, from both the praise and the embarassment. He'd hoped the Sandaime hadn't heard about his rather…ungraceful, if totally heartfelt, confession, made in the heat of battle and under the haze of bloodloss. He cursed his sensei under his breath – there was no doubt he was responsible for this. There had been no one else around when he'd declared he was in love with Konoha._

_The old man spoke again, but this time all traces of amusement were gone from his voice and eyes. "I have named you as my successor and Yondaime Hokage, not because you are powerful or Konoha's Yellow Flash and war hero, not because of any overwhelming popularity, and not because of your intelligence, but because I __**know**__, without any doubt that you will never let any harm come to Konoha, and will use all that you are to defend your family. I know all this, and I __**believe**__ in you."_

_He took in a sharp breath, his eyes widening slightly and his heart speeding up, before he let it out slowly, a warmth spreading through his chest and body. Blue eyes met steel grey, filled with fear and uncertainty, but also pride, happiness, and a promise to protect._

_Sarutobi smiled._

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**Japanese translations:**

-sama: suffix signifying respect of the highest kind, equivalent to 'master' or 'sir' or 'lord'

Ero-Sennin: Pervy-sage. Naruto's nickname for Jiraiya.

Sennin: Sage / hermit

**Author's notes: **I am aware that some of you may discuss my choice of having Orochimaru called 'sama', but that part of the chapter (obviously I hope) takes place before the Snake Sennin turns traitor.

Hopefully, I didn't mess up Sandaime's character too much. I'm not sure his speech is good but ah well.

To clarify things: the parts with Naruto take place in the Shippuden, after Naruto's three-year training trip with Jiraiya. Naruto is 15. _Parts in italic like this_ take place in the past. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer, provided it doesn't reveal the plot XD.

Please R&R!


	3. Chapter 2: Floodgates

Naruto stabbed the offending piece of meat with his chopsticks, a frown on his face, not caring about his friends' worried loo

**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Naruto. I own the plot (quasi non-existant).

**Important AN: **This story is just an experiment, and has almost no plot whatsoever – reasons for this will be explained in a few chapters. I never intended for it to be very long, and unless I actually get an idea for a good plot, it won't be more than ten chapters long. Just wanted to let you know. If you're still interested, well, have fun reading this next chapter!

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words/_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream

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**Chapter 2**** - Floodgates**

Naruto stabbed the offending piece of meat with his chopsticks, a frown on his face, not caring about his friends' worried looks. They were at a BBQ restaurant, Chouji's favorite, booked out for the day and night to accommodate the numerous shinobi attending Naruto's birthday party. They were a day early, but because of the festival tomorrow, they decided to do it the evening before and stick with him until midnight, when he would officially turn 16 years old.

The blond had been touched, and had happily spent the day with his friends, being first dragged around by the female portion of said friend to shop for new outfits. Sakura thought the orange and black outfit (while slightly better than the one from his genin days) should be burnt, and Ino had declared that it was an affront to nature and fashion. Naruto started protesting, but one combined glare from both kunoichi shut him up. He had now several new outfits to choose from, all accommodating his new nearly 6 foot tall frame and showing off his muscles. He was currently wearing a dark red shirt over a black semi long-sleeved fishnet shirt, with fingerless black gloves, black three-quarter length cargo pants, and black open-toed shinobi boots. His kunai holster and pouch were in their usual places, headband firmly held in place on his forehead by a black cloth, and he wore the standard Jounin vest, having passed the exam just over a month ago.

They all said the look suited him better than the previous orange, and while he pouted and glared in mock-anger, he silently agreed with them, not finding it necessary to inform them that it was the first time he hadn't been thrown out when shopping in Konoha.

Tsunade had managed to convince Shizune to take half the day off, and Jiraiya had even cut his 'research' in half to celebrate "the brat's birthday", as he put it. Kiba had commented that it was probably the idea of free sake that tempted him. Most agreed with him, including Naruto, but it was still fun to have the self-declared pervert around.

Gaara and Kankuro had arrived the week before, and proceeded to stare at/threaten Shikamaru who had recently started dating Temari, the Konoha-Suna liaison officer and their sister. The Kazekage and puppet-master were currently sitting opposite and glaring silently at said lazy ninja, who kept muttering 'mendokuse' in-between looking at the two and glaring halfheartedly at his laughing girlfriend.

Another fun sight was Anko, dragging around a blushing Iruka and scowling Ibiki, whom she had (somehow) convinced to attend. A few ANBU had also dropped by, people that Naruto had befriended over the years, and some he hadn't but who respected him all the same – there were more than the five or so that had been seen at the party, but those who didn't show themselves were surreptitiously guarding the restaurant against any would-be angry mob or drunks, under the pretext that the two kages needed an escort.

It was a very fun day for our favorite blond ninja, and he had never been happier than he was now, surrounded by all his precious people. The only one missing was Sasuke, but since they'd heard news that he had deserted Orochimaru, he still had hope that his best friend was still out there, and not consumed by the Hebi-Sennin – even though Naruto still thought the Uchiha was a bastard and needed a thorough beating.

But as the night progressed, Naruto kept on remembering the dreams. Over the months, they'd increased in frequency and intensity, to the point where he would feel as if they were his own memories. And even though he could never remember them in detail, there was something disturbing about them. As if it went against all that he was taught and told.

"Naruto? Hey man, what did the meat ever do to you?"

He blinked and raised his head to look at Kiba who was leaning over his left shoulder, a grin on his face and alcohol on his breath.

"You're drunk." He stated, more than half-amused. The Inuzuka only snorted, waving a hand around as if dismissing the thought.

"Yeah, yeah. So's Shino, and about half of ev'ryone here. 't least, am still cohu- coer- er, I can still talk!"

Naruto laughed, his tone disbelieving. "Shino's drunk?"

Kiba laughed again, swaying slightly before pointing to the left corner of the room where a drunk Shino, jacket off and glasses askew, was engaged in an arm wrestling contest with an equally drunk Kotetsu. Behind them, Izumo was cheering his friend on, an arm slung over the shoulders of a very obviously annoyed Hyuuga Neji, who was glaring daggers at a laughing Lee, one of the few still sober, for obvious reasons.

"I'm bettin' on Shino, ya know? 'Cause Kotetsu-senpai's a wuss. But din't tell him I told you th't!" Naruto went cross-eyed at the finger that nearly poked his eye out.

"I don't think-"

"Who are ya bettin' on? Yous should go fer Shino, 'cause he din't lookit, but that Aburame got muscles! Firs' time I saw…."

"_-that Aburame got muscles! I tell you, nearly gave me a heart attack!"_

_He turned, eyebrow raised in faint amusement at his best friend who was currently gushing about his latest mission with a chunin from the Aburame clan. "That so?"_

"_Yeah! He hit that missing-nin square in the gut, didn't even have time to blink! He was really pissed off about his jacket being burnt," the other declared, taking a large gulp of his drink. "I tell ya, if all Aburame's are like that, I never want ta get on their bad side!"_

_He laughed, whether from the tale or the alcohol. Obito would have liked this. Obito…to…Naruto…_NarutO-

"OY! Naruto!"

The blond jounin abruptly returned to reality. "What?..."

"Who would ya bet on?"

Trying to shake off the dream /_vision?_/ off, Naruto turned his attention back to the arm wrestling contest. "With the way things are going…I'm going to bet on Neji. He looks pissed off enough."

Kiba blinked, before chuckling and proceeding to ask the Kazekage the same question.

'_Yep, definitely drunk,' _thought Naruto, before taking stock of the rest of the room's occupants. Gai was sitting to the right of that table, and had wisely kept his student away from all alcoholic substances, and as such was still sober himself, although he had indulged into a few drinks. Kakashi, sitting next to him and not wanting to incite his 'rival' into a drinking contest, had also kept his sake-consumption to a minimum, while he read his trusty orange book, a perverted giggle escaping his mouth from time to time. Naruto almost rolled his eyes at the familiar sight.

Closer to him, and to the right, was a long table, where Anko and Tsunade were exchanging bad drinking songs. Tsunade was half-sprawled on the table, and Shizune was obviously developing a headache from all the off-key singing, if her constant rubbing of her temples was any indication. As for Anko, she had an arm each around Iruka and Ibiki, sitting at her sides, both very sober, and obviously annoyed. Well, Ibiki looked like he was seriously considering murder, but considering his job, that was normal.

Between him and the drunken contest between Shino and Kotetsu (which had in the meantime devolved into a drinking contest) was Chouji, eating at an impressive rate and talking with, surprisingly enough, Sai. Naruto had been surprised when the Root Anbu had come, but Sai had started to change over the time he'd known him, and he was willing to give the strangely emotionless boy a chance. He was rather surprised to see that Sai seemed genuinely interested in what Chouji had to say, and smiled slightly at that.

Behind him, and near the entrance, Yamato, Asuma and Jiraiya were quietly talking – the Sennin was obviously half-drunk, but he held his alcohol well enough to converse intelligently. Naruto would know, having spent nearly three years with the man; it was very hard to get Jiraiya truly drunk, and the only time it had happened was after Naruto had used the fourth tail for the first time. That day, when he'd awakened, shaking and hurting, and scared of nearly everything, Jiraiya had dragged him to the nearest bar and proceeded to get both of them rip-roaring drunk. The hangover had been hell, and Naruto hated it, but he appreciated the effort, and resumed his training with new vigor.

The final group was also next to the entrance, and consisted of a truly frightening sight: gossiping females. While they weren't drunk, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Kurenai were all tipsy enough that their inhibitions had been removed, and they were all in a group, whispering and looking around at the various males around the room before blushing and giggling. When they all looked at him with somewhat coy smiles and knowing eyes, Naruto shuddered and turned his head back. _Scary…_

"Maaannnnn!! Lookit the time! HEY! EV'RYBODY!!" Kiba yelled in his ear, nearly rendering Naruto deaf. "IT'CH ALMOSHT MIDNIGHT!!"

Immediately (or almost, considering the state of half those present) the shinobi turned towards Naruto's table, grinning from ear to ear (or smirking in Gaara's and Ibiki's case), and started the countdown, looking at the clock over his head.

"TEN!"

Naruto felt…something.

"NINE!"

A headache was forming. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk.

"EIGHT!"

But he didn't have that much. He frowned slightly.

"SEVEN!"

There was a slight buzzing in his ears, and he could hear the blood rushing through his veins.

"SIX!"

The pain was growing, and he struggled to keep the smile on his face. His heart was beating faster, and he vaguely wondered why no one could hear the loud beats.

"FIVE!"

His whole body was hurting now, as if suddenly on fire. His wrists, ankles and neck were burning, and the whisker marks on his face felt strange, like they were moving. He raised a hand to touch them…

"FOUR!"

…they didn't feel any different, as they would if the Kyuubi was channeling his power through him...

"THREE!"

The pain was overwhelming now, and he felt as if his head would explode. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Gaara start, a concerned look on his face.

"TWO!"

His smile slipped. White-hot pain surged forward from behind his eyes-

"ONE!"

It was too much!

"**HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!!"**

He screamed in agony, before his world went black and he collapsed into blissful unconsciousness.

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**Japanese translations:**

**Genin, Chunin, Jounin, Sannin, Hokage:** ninja levels, in that order for power / advancement. Military terms.

**Suna:** Sand

**Kazekage:** Wind Shadow. The leader of Sunagakure no Sato.

**Sunagakure no Sato:** The village hidden in the sand. Allies of Konoha.

**Mendokuse:** troublesome. Shikamaru's favorite word / sentence.

**Hebi-Sennin:** Snake Hermit

**Gama-Sennin:** Toad Hermit.

**Godaime:** The Fifth (Hokage)

**ANBU:** Special Black Ops division. Composed of elite ninjas. Basically, assassins. They typically wear white porcelain mask depicting an animal and bone-white body armor. Type 'ANBU' on Googlesearch for more info and images.

**-senpai:** suffix indicating respect to a senior.

**Shunshin no Jutsu:** the teleportation technique, used quite often during the anime /manga. The user usually appears /disappears in a whirl of leaves. Also known as the 'Body Flicker'. It is often confused with the 'Hiraishin no Jutsu' (Flying Thunder God), which is Yondaime's prized technique.

**Jutsu: **ninja technique

**Answers to questions you didn't know you had:**

**Q: Why is Asuma still alive?**

**A:** That's part of the AU. In my version, he didn't die, but came close to it, putting him in the hospital. As such, Shikamaru's character has matured as in the manga.

**Q: Shika's dating Temari? O.o**

**A: **Don't complain, it's practically canon :P

**Q: Naruto's a JOUNIN? When did that happen?! **

**A: **yes, he's a jounin, and it happened about a month ago according to this timeline. Why? Because I refuse to believe Naruto hasn't learnt anything from Jiraiya during his three year training trip. Jiraiya is a pervert, but he's a Sannin, so he's powerful, and obviously in shape as evidenced by his numerous fights during the course of the manga, so he obviously still trains. I don't like how Kishimoto did the Shippuden: Naruto doesn't seem to have changed or matured during all that time, he just grew up in height and maybe speed. He doesn't even have new techniques! I personally find it ridiculous and just a bit unrealistic. So in my fic, Naruto did learn new jutsus, is faster, stronger, and actually **thinks.** Mind you, he can still rush headlong into things, 'cause otherwise it would change him too much, but he can't stay the same idiotic 12-year-old forever.

**Q: Why does Naruto actually seem intelligent in this fic?**

**A:** I don't think Naruto's stupid. There is plenty of evidence in the manga /anime to support this, such as the presence of books and scrolls in his apartment (episode 1), and the fact that he learnt the shadow clone technique in a few hours. Also, he can think up some pretty elaborate strategies on the spot, and while he's no genius like Shikamaru, he's obviously pretty smart. His failures in the academy can be explained by short attention span and/or ADD (hence the pranks) and that he learns better hands-on.

**I think that's pretty much it. If there's anything I forgot / misspelled / got the wrong information, please feel free to tell /ask me. I don't have a beta, and spellcheck hates me, so it would be very helpful.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed, the support is appreciated.**

**Please R&R. **


	4. Chapter 3: Memories

When they had organized the party, they had all been confident that Naruto would be happy

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. The plot is mine (somewhat), and any Ocs you find are mine. Thank you.

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words/_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream

_/__words/_: memory sequence

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**Chapter 3**** – Memories **

When they had organized the party, they had all been confident that Naruto would be happy. Seeing that goofy smile of his had been reward enough, and the following evening had nearly split his face in two. Naruto had joked and smiled, gotten into arguments and screaming contests with both Kiba and Lee, all the while managing to eat more than even Chouji. Things had been going very well, and by the time midnight came around, Tsunade was feeling the happy buzz of sake, and was more than willing to yell the countdown with an equally drunk Anko. They had fully expected Naruto to smile that shit-eating grin of his, eyes closing in happiness before he would scream his joy to be heard in Suna.

The screaming in agony and collapsing into unconsciousness hadn't really been in the script.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, the room suddenly exploded into motion and noise, various cries of "Naruto!" coming from many different sources – Tsunade only realized she had been one of those when the sound had already left her lips.

Tsunade herself was struggling to get through the mass of bodies (or what seemed like it to her still-sobering up mind), before she finally got fed up. She was the Hokage dammit!

"OUT OF THE WAY!!"

Needless to say, she had no problem getting to the blond after that. Quickly kneeling next to her surrogate little brother, she performed a quick scan, her own chakra already working on purging the alcohol from her system, adrenaline pumping in her veins.

'_What's wrong with him? Please be alright Naruto!'_

"Is he alright?" And she turned slightly, never stopping her task, to see Kakashi and Jiraiya standing beside and behind her, worried looks on their faces. The green glow disappeared as she finished the scan.

"He's fine…physically at least. There doesn't appear to be any immediate danger." Her hands went back up to his head, unconsciously stroking the blond strands. _'So much like Minato…'_

"But?" Obviously, Jiraiya wasn't going to let her drift off. She frowned a bit at that, but in light of the circumstances let it pass.

"There seems to be an unusually high amount of stress on his brain, like some sort of overload, which is probably what caused him to pass out. But there are no other symptoms. It's unlike anything I've ever seen."

Those who had been close enough to hear (and that was nearly everyone, and Tsunade noted how eerily silent it was without the blond's presence) gasped slightly at that: if _Tsunade_, the legendary Sennin and Medic didn't know…

"Yamato," she called. The man, who had been talking quietly with the Anbu alarmed by the scream, turned. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

She nodded towards Naruto. "Get him to the hospital. Make sure he is properly taken care of, threaten people if you have to. _Don't leave his side_ and _don't_ let anyone who is not a doctor or nurse in his room. I will be there shortly." Yamato nodded, before picking up the unconscious teen.

Tsunade then turned to the remaining Anbu guard. "As for you, no word of this gets out, to _no one_. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The reply came quietly, before the ninja disappeared, no doubt relaying orders to the two-dozen Anbus that had rushed to the scene and were now hiding above the restaurant.

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade made sure all others present followed the same order. With a final nod and a sharp look to her old teammate, the Godaime and Gama-Sennin left, teleporting to the hospital _via_ Shunshin no Jutsu.

**oOo**

He awoke lying on his side in a puddle. Even before opening his eyes, he knew where he was: the deep breathing behind him could only come from the Kyuubi. Yet, the demon was strangely silent, not even berating him for his weakness.

'_Strange…If he called me here, why doesn't he say anything?...Wait. He didn't call me. What happened?'_

Slowly, his memory of the last few minutes _/hours?/_ came back to him, and his eyes shot open as he suddenly remembered the overwhelming pain, stumbling to his knees and eyes darting around wildly as if expecting it to suddenly jump at him from the shadows lurking around his mind.

But there was nothing, and only the rhythmic breath of the giant kitsune behind him and his own erratic gasps broke the silence.

'_Wait…'_

There was something else…He forced himself to calm down, willing his hearing to get sharper…_'There!'_

He turned to the right, where a wall _should_ have been, but instead there was a door. Heavily chained and locked, with rapidly disappearing seals in the shape of the a six-point cross, yet not connected at their center. He squinted – it looked familiar, somehow, and with a shock he realized the seals were arranged the same way as his own whisker marks.

The Kyuubi was silent still, watching its jailor in interest. The blond ignored him, finally finding enough strength to stand up and step forward. He knew what this was. A memory. And apparently, a **sealed** memory. _'Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be more things sealed inside me…I guess I was wrong after all. Wonder what kind of memory warrants to be sealed as tightly as this one? Can't be very pleasant.'_

At this point, that part of him labeled as 'common sense' pointed out that sane and prudent people wouldn't go looking around at things that they'd obviously noted as being 'unpleasant'.

He wasn't known for his common sense, so he shrugged the warning off and charged forward, as usual. _'Besides,'_ he thought, _'this is __**my**__ mind. And it can't be any more dangerous than the Kyuubi.'_

Later on, he would reflect that Fate loves irony, and that he maybe should have listened.

But as his fingers reached out and brushed the chains, the seals finally broke, disappearing in a million fragments. The chains and padlocks fell off, clattering to the floor in an odd silence. He pushed the door open-

-to reveal a corridor. With lots and lots of doors, up, down, right, left, on the floor and ceiling, sideways, right-ways, upside-down, shape as circle, square, rectangle, made of wood, stone, paper, sticks, plastics even. Doors of every kind and shape, you name it and there it was.

'_Ah.'_

He sighed. There were a lot more memories than what he expected. Granted, he was slightly disappointed, as if something hadn't been done properly, and he'd been expecting something else – maybe a monster to jump for his throat, it would have been _expected_, if not welcome. The stillness and familiarity of his current setting was somewhat annoying. He frowned, before noticing that each door, as far as he could see (and that was very far) was closed by a single paper seal, in the same manner as the Kyuubi's cage. For another unexplained reason, he found this satisfying.

Common sense seemed to have taken a permanent holiday as he again reached out and ripped the first seal off the first door. It flung open inwards, as if sucked in by some vacuum, and he was suddenly plunged into the memory.

/_He was forced from comfortable darkness into bright white light. He was hurting, and wanted to go back. Another pain made him open his mouth to cry out in protest, and he took his first breath._

_Jostled, before something rough touched his skin. He was passed along, having no notion of time, crying all the while for the comfort he'd left, and the safety. _

_Soft arms encircled him, and he instinctively recognized that this was the closest to safety he would be. A warm feeling, before his head was propped up and his new eyes trailed up the neck to a soft face and smile. The impossibly blue eyes were all he saw, before he finally quieted down and drifted off to sleep, content._/

He stumbled back into the corridor. _'Whoa…'_ The memory had been his birth, the woman his mother. He knew this with certainty, his adult mind processing and analyzing the simple sensations of a newborn baby. It had been a strange experience, and he was still disoriented – it had been three dimensional, and he knew to expect this, but it was still strange to be both _inside_ the memory as a participant, and _outside_ it, as an observer, and it had been a long time since he'd reviewed memories in this manner.

The first time he had wandered into his mindscape, away from the Kyuubi's cage, and found the series of doors that signaled his memories, he had been confused. After his first experience of the dual point of view, he had been completely lost. So he'd done the best thing he could think of, and asked Jiraiya the next morning about it. He'd only received a weird look, before his teacher told him that no one accessed their memories the way he did. When prompted for a better explanation – he'd whined and screamed of course, it was their routine – the old pervert had told him that even when in a deep meditative trance, a person's mindscape had no precise shape, and memories were called forth with a thought or feeling.

The double point of view was even harder to understand – it marked the memory as his, but also allowed him to analyze it from any point, hence the three dimensional aspect of the scene, which shouldn't have been possible since it was the memory of a single person, with a single point of view, and who couldn't possibly pay attention to every detail and remember them consciously. The two of them had discussed _/argued /_ on this until late that night, before they'd finally decided to blame it on the Fox and the necessity for his mind as a whole to be protected from it.

Now, as he reached for the second seal, the blonde jinchuuriki was careful to prepare himself for the strange aspect of his newfound memories – because they had to be his, no one else's mind worked the same way, except for another jinchuuriki's perhaps, and he was quite sure Gaara hadn't been into his head. The door opened, sucking him in-

_/warm milk flowed down to his hungry stomach as he happily sucked on his mother's brea_/

-before closing just as quickly as he flung himself forcefully out. _'Okay…I did __**not**__ need to see that!'_ He blushed, before skipping the next ten doors, as they obviously held similar images. The next door he stopped at was imbedded into a slightly tilted part of the floor, and was made out of bamboo-frame and light-green rice paper. Taking the seal off, he practically ripped the door open in his haste to replace the _far too vivid_ images. He wasn't disappointed.

_/It was his birthday today, and in a few more weeks would be taking his first class at the Academy. His father was out on a mission, but he had promised he would be there for his first day, so he wasn't too angry at him. _

_He puffed his cheeks and blew out the candles – all five of them - on the giant chocolate frosted cake with childish glee, his eyes glowing with joy. As soon as he was done, and had made his wish (that his father would take him out for ramen more often), he stepped to the side, nearly bouncing off his feet as his mother cut out pieces and set them onto plates for him and his friends._

_He didn't have many, but those he had were precious to him, and just a week ago he had made two new ones, and invited them too. The dark haired twins with the strange white eyes hadn't been able to make it, but they said they too would be going to the academy soon and that they would see him there, promise!_

_His mother finally finished, and she ruffled his hair, her impossibly blue eyes closing as she smiled and he answered in kind, before starting on his cake, chocolate frosting sticking to his hair and dusting his fingers./_

'_Well,_' he thought as he stepped back, '_that was better than the last one_.' Then he frowned, the strangeness of the scene finally registering. He never celebrated his birthdays, not until very recently. Even when Sandaime-jiji had been alive he hadn't done more than stay home all day to avoid the mobs, as he read whichever scroll the Hokage had given him that time. Not that the Old Man didn't want to celebrate his birthday, but he had other responsibilities, and couldn't show too much favoritism lest the council force him away even more. The friends were odd as well, for the same reasons, and he didn't recall meeting any Hyuuga twins. He only knew Neji and Hinata, and by extension Hiashi and Hanabi (who was a spoilt brat with whom he got along in a relationship not dissimilar to the one he had with Kiba – a lot of loud arguments and not much else).

But most disturbing was the mention of his father, as if he was alive and just away on a mission, and the presence of his mother – he'd recognized the woman from the first door's memory, though she'd aged a bit. He was an orphan from birth, his parents killed in the attack of the monster who would be eventually sealed within him. He _couldn't_ have known his parents! It just _**wasn't possible**_!

But he had, and he did, and that confused him even more than before. He turned away from the green paper door, for once pushing his emotions away, in a place where he would deal with them later. He needed more information, and there was only one way to get it. He stepped towards the next door.

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**Japanese translations:**

**Sake****:** japanese rice wine. (last time I edit this, I'm sticking to this spelling now)

**Chakra:** the mix of one's spiritual and physical energy. It is used as the energy source to do jutsus.

**Godaime:** the Fifth (Hokage)

**Kyuubi:** Nine-tails demon fox (I can't believe I'm writing this…)

**Kitsune:** spirit fox

**Jinchuuriki:** literally translates as the 'power of human sacrifice'. Basically, a demon vessel, like Gaara and Naruto.

**Ramen:** flavored noodles. (if anyone has a better definition, do let me know…)

**Sandaime-jiji:** old man Hokage (the Third). Naruto's nickname for the Third. Not really respectful, more affectionate.

**Author's note:** Aaaannnd…..another cliffhanger, although not as bad as the last one. I'm surprised by the number of reviews /alerts / favorites this story has received. Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest, I hope this chapter satisfies your thirst for now. I'm working on the next two and will have them out soon hopefully. :)

**Q: Why is the Kyuubi silent?**

**A: **Because something unusual is happening, and he doesn't want to miss one of the most interesting things that have happened since he was sealed inside Naruto.

**Q: Who ARE Hiashi, Hizashi and Hanabi? O.o **

**A: **Hiashi is Hinata's and Hanabi's father. Hizashi is his twin brother, Neji's father, and died when Hinata was four, and Neji five, after an attempted kidnapping on Hinata. I am not going to go into detail about this, as I am unsure of the full story myself, so you might want to look it up, but it's not important.

**Q: Naruto's and Hanabi's relationship? When did they meet?**

**A: **I don't know when the two met, but I figured they had to have met at some point. I don't think Hiashi is as much a prick as he is portrayed, so I think he would have let Naruto in after some time. Hence, Naruto and Hanabi meeting. As for their relationship, I always thought it would be funny to have quiet and collected Hyuuga Hanabi, the little brat that she is, be inexplicably riled up to a point where she would literally **yell **at them. Naruto was a good outlet – although I did consider Kiba too, but that just doesn't work. And NO, this is not NarutoxHanabi. There aren't any pairings in this, except a few hinted-at.

**Q: Your story is slow. Where is all the action?!**

**A: **This is an experiment to test one of my wacky theories. It doesn't have a plot (yet) and as such doesn't focus on action.

**Q: What's with the doors and corridor?**

**A:** Some of you may recognize the ever-popular theory that one's mindscape is categorized in a certain, orderly way, usually with doors representing one's memories. I used the cliché of multiple doors for multiple memories, but took it a step further and changed not only their colors, but about everything else. Also, note that a door's aspect has no relation whatsoever with the memory it contains.

**Q: Why is Naruto (or any jinchuuriki) the only one with a mind organized that way?**

**A:** Because that's how his mindscape is represented in the manga and anime. Where I disagree is that everyone's mind would be the same. I don't care what others say, my mind doesn't work that way. I don't stroll around inside it and explore. And I certainly don't organize my memories that way. The human mind remembers and recalls based on emotions and feelings, even words or ideas, that we associate with memories. That's my theory anyway. But since Kishimoto-san decided to represent Naruto's mind the way it is, I had to find a suitable explanation for it.

Oh, and I don't mind when people use the same "mindscape" setting as Naruto's for other people in their fanfics – it usually helps understanding the plot /scene(s). I just didn't want to use it for mine.

**Q: How can Naruto be in his mindscape? I thought it only happened if Kyuubi called him and/or he is in danger?**

**A: **We've only _seen _it that way. It doesn't mean he can't go there voluntarily – it **is** his mind after all. And the pain and shock he is suffering could be considered a dangerous situation, when you think about it.

**Any misspelled words / typos / wrong definition / misuse of words – please tell me, even if it's minor, I don't like going through one of my stories only to find that there is a stupid mistake in the middle of it. Thanks.**

**Once again, thanks to all my reviewers and watchers out there, the support is appreciated.**

**Please R&R, and stay tuned for the next cha****pter!**


	5. Chapter 4: Reaction

They appeared in front of the hospital doors, and Tsunade lost no time into pushing the doors open and walking inside as fast

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. The plot is mine (somewhat), and any Ocs you find are mine. Thank you.

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words/_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream

_/__words/_: memory sequence

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**Chapter 4**** - Reaction**

They appeared in front of the hospital doors, and Tsunade lost no time into pushing the doors open and walking inside as fast as she dared. They could have run in – or even teleported directly inside – but Tsunade was Hokage, and she knew that her rushing inside the hospital would only generate unnecessary panic. At least, that's what the Hokage part of her said; the other part, the one that cared about Naruto like family, kept screaming at her to _RUN you idiot!_ - and it took all her self-control to keep up a cool façade.

They didn't bother stopping at the desk to register as was standard protocol – they didn't need to, for obvious reasons – and didn't ask for directions to where Naruto had been put. He was always in the same room, every time he ended up here. 2nd Floor, room 267. Near Emergencies. Jiraiya would have snorted at that if the situation didn't have him as worried as his ex-teammate (although he'd rather die than admit he actually _cared_).

"Did you notice?"

The question was sudden, and cut through the tension in the air like a hot knife, but he wasn't surprised. "Of course," he replied. They turned another corner, their stride lengthening.

"Do you know what they are?" The tone was controlled, calm, as expected from a Hokage. He knew it well – she only used that tone with him when she was extremely worried about something. He took a look at her from the corner of his eyes as he considered his answer. Her face was completely calm, almost void of emotions, and her posture seemed relaxed. It would have fooled anyone, but him. _'And Minato,'_ he reminded himself, pain clenching his heart for the briefest of moment, as always when he remembered his deceased student.

But he noticed. He noticed the minute tension of her shoulders when her cloak clung to her. He noticed the slight twitching of her lips and brow into near invisible frowns. He noticed the chakra spiking around her hands as if fighting to heal non-existant injuries. And most of all, he noticed her eyes, because they had _that_ look in them, and it was a look he'd sported many times himself. The look anyone who had befriended the blonde sported every time he rushed headlong into danger, nearly killing himself in the process. Naruto never saw it (or maybe he did), but it was always, _always _there.

His own lips twitched as he thinked about his reply. "I am not sure they are what I think – it seems absurd enough as it is. I will have to take a closer look."

The frown came through, but she didn't contradict him. He was the expert on this, as much as she was an expert in medical-jutsu. "So they were seals…I wasn't sure I saw correctly." Another turn in another corridor, and at the end, they could see Yamato standing guard near a door, his eyes fixed on their approaching figures. No doubt he had already placed privacy seals in the room, and had a Kage Bunshin hidden somewhere inside to keep watch.

"Hokage-sama," he said, and stepped aside to let the two sennin through, before resuming his guard duty.

Jiraiya nodded in thanks, before following Tsunade in. As soon as the door closed, he turned his attention to the only other people in the room. Tsunade was taking in the report from the doctor who had been monitoring Naruto's condition – one of the few that could actually be trusted with the blond's life – and the Gama-Sennin took the opportunity to take a closer look at his most recent pupil.

Naruto was resting rather peacefully on the hospital bed, and if not for the minute twitching of his brows and slight muscle tension that indicated some form of pain, he could have been sleeping. Walking closer to the head of the bed, Jiraiya brushed some strands of blond hair from a sweat-beaded forehead…and took the opportunity to discreetely examine his face.

'_They're still there…'_ he observed, looking at the peculiar whisker marks on Naruto's face. To any other, they wouldn't have looked any different than normal, perhaps a bit thicker, but nothing noticeable. But a seals master, such as Jiraiya, would notice the minuscule seals intricately woven together which had suddenly appeared in their stead, so closely knit that they could be mistaken for contiguous lines. _'What the hell are those things?'_

Even as he watched, the seals seemed to move, twisting around like demented snakes, writhing, _changing_, to accommodate a new purpose. What that was, he didn't know, but he sure as hell was going to find out. Naruto didn't need any new seal to screw with his life, and although it looked like those were rather old, he'd rather find out if they were any danger to the blond **before** it harmed him.

The doctor finally left, and he leaned in closer, enhancing his vision as much as he dared with chakra. Behind him, Tsunade stood silent. Finally, after what felt like a small eternity to her, Jiraiya straightened, a carefully blank look on his face, and she suddenly felt the urge to swallow. After several minutes more of silence, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Well?"

He turned to her, blank expression still in place, his eyes thoughtful, before turning back to the object of their concern. She was going to ask him again, in much less poilte tones, when he suddenly started to speak:

"These seals…I've never seen anything like them before. They are definitely holding something – or rather, they **were** holding something. I suspect it's a time-based seal, designed to go off at a specific date – which was obviously his 16th birthday. Or maybe the person who put it on him died and can't maintain it anymore, some seals are like that, although they're pretty rare. Anyway, as soon as it activated, it started releasing…whatever it is holding, back into his system, most probably his mind since you told me there was a lot of stress on his brain. I can't be a hundred percent sure, because that thing on his face is not only moving around like crazy, but it is also multi-layered, and some parts of it seem to be disappearing at the same time new ones appear."

He paused, taking a breath to organize his thoughts as he tried to figure out how to drop the next bombshell. Tsunade's look of impatience had been replaced by a thoughtful one, and she asked the one question that really mattered. "Is he in danger from it?"

"No."

The reply was quick, too quick, and the brown eyes narrowed in suspicion: "You've seen this before."

It wasn't a question, more like a statement, but he answered her anyway. "Not exactly…at least I don't think so. But I saw something similar to it once." He turned to her then, and she could see the slightly disturbed look in his eyes. '_That can't be good,'_ she thought, but raised an eyebrow in question.

Jiraiya continued, his voice quiet: "It was…before the attack. About three or four weeks. I was leaving Konoha the next day on my long-term intelligence gathering mission. If I'd known what would happen…" He closed his eyes for a moment, before continuing in a voice that didn't quite hide his pain. "I don't think Minato intended for me to see it; it was one of those projects he'd been working on with Sarutobi-sensei in his spare time. You know how much he liked surprising me. I came in rather unexpectedly, and he wasn't in, so I went inside his office. Wasn't like I hadn't been there before."

Tsunade snorted, despite the seriousness of the situation, before gesturing for him to continue.

"Anyway, there was this bunch of papers on the table – the twerp had obviously been called away unexpectedly. I wouldn't have paid more than a passing glance to them, if the markings of a seal hadn't caught my eye. I barely had time to take a look at the notes before Minato came back and swept them back inside his desk, but I caught sight of a few jutsu theories on the Yamanaka clan's techniques."

She inhaled sharply. "You don't think…?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No. He never completed it. But," and he turned back towards the bed, gesturing vaguely at its occupant's face, "these look very similar to the prototype seal I saw, albeit a lot more complex."

"But he could have completed the technique, couldn't he?"

"Tsunade…"

"He had a few weeks more, and you weren't there, so he could have. And he was working with Sensei on it too!" She was excited now, hope that maybe the Yondaime had left something to his son other than a demon and a cursed fate.

"It's impossible, Tsunade. Even if he had completed it, he would never have had the time to test it, and something as delicate as what he was working on would _have_ to be tested. Any seals master knows that." He felt a bit guilty for crushing her hopes like that – she had been trying for so long to find a way for Naruto to know more about his father than what others could give him, and it would have been so close…

"Minato was a seals genius, and even though the Shiki Fūjin worked perfectly, it was a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of genius that he deviated from another demon-sealing technique. Almost all seals as complex as those **have** to be tested, lest the subject suffer dire consequences. And we both know he wouldn't have put his own son under that kind of risk."

The last part was said in a whisper, and they both bowed their heads a moment, dealing with the pain in their own way. Namikaze Minato had been important to them, in different ways certainly, but nonetheless important. Tsunade had seen him as a younger brother, much in the same light she now saw Naruto in. Losing him, after losing Dan and Nawaki…It had been too much, and even though she never mentionned it, those close to her knew that his death had been the final blow to push her out of Konoha.

Jiraiya…had considered him a son, and had never been more proud in his life than the day his student had been chosen as Yondaime Hokage. He'd always regretted never telling him how much he cared before losing him. _'It's too late for regrets, you old fool,'_ he berated himself silently. _'I'll just have to make sure I don't lose another student.'_

Easier said than done. They didn't know what was affecting Naruto, and it could very well kill him. Jiraiya clenched his fists, vowing, in the privacy of his mind, that he wouldn't rest until the blond was out of this…whatever it was.

Abrubtly, he turned on his feet and made his way to the door. He stopped right before opening it, and not bothering to turn around, said: "I'm going to do some research. See if I can dig up something." There was a certain playfulness in his voice when he said 'research', but they both knew he was completely serious for once.

She nodded. "I'll make sure you have access to the Hokage's files." He nodded in gratitude, and then was gone, the door closing silently behind while she turned back to the bed, running another scan. And another. And another, again and again, trying to find something new, a clue at least to what they were facing.

She wouldn't leave the hospital until late the next morning, when Shizune finally forced her way inside and got her to get some rest, under threat of cutting off her sake supply at the office.

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**Japanese translation:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: **Shadow Clone technique – the user creates a solid replica of himself made of chakra. It is a forbidden technique, stored into the Scroll of Seals Naruto steals in the first episode – most likely, it is forbidden because of the high amount of chakra required to perform the technique.

**Shiki F****ūjin:** the "Dead Demon Consuming Seal" – the seal Yondaime allegedly used to seal the Kyuubi in Naruto's belly by use of summoning the Shinigami (Death God) himself.

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**Author's note:** Well, not much happening in this chapter, but it was getting too long so I had to cut it there. I know some of you would like longer chapters, but I don't want to post a monstruously long chapter after keeping them more or less the same length.

Anyway, made several edits to previous chapters. I'd also like to thank **jrjensen**, whose mindscape they can actually walk in like Naruto's. That was an interesting bit of information, didn't know it was actually possible.

**Q: I thought you said Naruto was smarter, how come you say in t****his chapter that he rushes headlong into danger still?**

**A:** Smarter yes, but he's still Naruto. I wouldn't change that for the world.

**Q: ****Jiraiya thinks of Yondaime as his son? O.o Wtf?**

**A:**yesss…..that's what I think anyway. I'm basing a lot of this on various pictures and doujinshis I've seen / read on the internet. If you want a good idea of what their relationship is like, go read "Yondaime Gaiden" by Kunoichi-san on deviantart. Type in (without the space) kunoichi-san.deviantart. com

**As usual, i****f you see mistakes of any kind, do tell me - as long as it doesn't ignore the fact that this is AU, even though I'm trying to keep this as close to canon as possible.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed! Please keep on R&R people, it makes me happy and writing faster! **


	6. Chapter 5: Pieces of the Puzzle

oOo

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. I only own the plot and original characters (and names). This is called fanfiction for a reason folks…

**Important ****AN: **well, you people are gonna be happy. This chapter is a Naruto and Minato centric one, from head to toe, and is a lot longer than previous chapters, but I can't seem to find a way to cut it…

Also, you might notice that the "memory" sequences in this chapter aren't in italics. That's because these parts are very long, and passages in italics have a tendency to strain the eyes. Also, it makes for easier comprehension of the memory (you'll understand as you read).

Blonds have a dirty mouth in this chapter. (grins)

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words/_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream

/words: memory sequence

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**Chapter 5**** – Pieces of the puzzle**

He was annoyed.

Scratch that, he is more than annoyed. Ticked off even. Admitedly, it doesn't take much to get him angry most of the time, but he had been working on his temper for some time, and was proud to say he didn't have _quite_ as short a fuse as before. Working with Hinata had at least taught him patience. What was pissing him off you ask? Why, the sealed memories of course.

He'd been at it for hours /_or days_/ now, and had opened nearly a hundred doors. In that time, he'd gone through a few random scenes from his day-to-day life, and was slowly getting used to the idea of a mother and father, though he couldn't acknowledge them as _his_, no matter how much his logic screamed at him those memories were his own. One such memory had been his first day at the academy - he'd pranked the teacher, a red-haired chunin, before running away laughing; that had been interesting.

Next had been his seventh birthday party – the twins were there that time, and he'd confirmed his suspicions that they were Hyuugas, and were named Hizashi and Hiashi. He remembered - no, the _memory_ _showed_ that he and his friends (although he had no clue who most were) had wreaked havoc in the house that day, throwing kunai and shuriken with a blindfold (ninja-style pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey), sparring with each other, getting sugar everywhere and generally creating chaos like the good little ninja-in-training they were.

There had been other random memories, some that were important (like when he finally got this or that jutsu down), some that weren't (picking up a stray cat from the street), and some that had him even more confused (various appearances of a red-haired girl who kept hitting him for various reasons, although he'd determined that she was related to his first-year teacher somewhat).

Then there had been specific memories, and in some of those, people he'd recognized, with a strange feeling of déjà-vu overlaying the recognition. The most confusing had been his graduation and subsequent genin test.

**oOo**

/He could barely contain his excitement, and it was only through sheer force of will that he wasn't bouncing in his seat like a three year old. As it was, his grin nearly split his face his two, his blue eyes bright with joy. He'd finally done it, he'd finally graduated! Starting today, he was a ninja!

The rest of his classmates were as excited as he was, and their voices drifted around the classroom as they discussed which team they'd be on, and who they'd like as their teammates. A few latecomers trickled into the classroom, among them his friend Uchiha Masato. He grinned, waving at the dark-haired boy. Though a few years younger than most of his classmates, Masato had fast become the class hearthrob, a fate (and he laughed at that) all Uchiha males seemed to share, no matter the place and time.

As if on cue, his fangirls noticed him, and he was tempted to cover his ears as they screeched their welcome, asking him to sit next to them and they'd kept the seat 'especially for you, Masato-kun!' Taking pity on his friend, he called him over:

"Oi, Masato! Stop hogging all the attention to yourself!"

Before the fangirls could retaliate, said Uchiha grinned and made his way over, dropping into the seat on his right – the one that was right at the end of the row, so no one could sit beside him – replying with a rather cheerful "Shut up, Minato!" The two boys grinned, before starting to talk excitedly about their upcoming team-announcement.

"I hope we end up on the same team!" said Masato, his arms behind his head.

"Yeah, me too, but I don't think that's likely."

Masato frowned. "Why do you say that? We'd work well together…" He trailed off, seeing the thoughtful look on his friend's face. "What is it?"

He was silent for a moment, before answering, a small smile on his face: "Well, you know your brother? Fugaku?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, he was rookie of the year wasn't he? And so was that guy, Gekkou Taiki, right?" He waited until the Uchiha boy nodded in recognition, before laying down his theory. "Well, I was thinking, both of them got put on a team with the worst in their respective class, and the third member was someone with average grades, like that Morino guy. What I'm saying is that, it seems the rookie of the year is always put with the dead last, and then someone average to balance out the teams. And I've had a look at the other teams that were put in active service the last few years – don't look at me like that, it's a matter of public record. Anyway, all the teams were made so there wouldn't be too much of one type of ninja, so they'd be well balanced. Follow me so far?"

"Huh?"

He sighed, mild frustration at a well-played routine tugging at him. "What I mean is, they always make it so the members of a team can balance-out each other's weaknesses. For example, the rookie of the year counterbalances for the weakness of the dead-last. Or that, on each team, there is a genin with a certain affinity for each ninja-art, like Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu."

"Oh." Masato finally understood what his friend was trying to tell him, apparently amazed that he'd put together such a complex theory on the composition of genin teams. Then he frowned. "But what does that have to do with whether or not we'll be together on a team?"

"Baka! Weren't you listening? I said there would be a genin of each type of ninja-arts on a team, if possible. You and I are both ninjutsu-type, and we're both rather average, so the chances of us being on the same team are rather low. Got it now?"

"Huh-uh. You aren't as stupid as you look after all!"

"HEY!"

Their friendly scuffle was cut short as their sensei – the same red-headed chunin he'd pranked on his first day – came in, an unusual silence settling around the prospective genins. After greeting them, and a rather boring speech to which neither of them paid attention, Kaito-sensei finally got to the team announcements, and he perked up, eagerly waiting for his name to be called.

"Team 5 - Yoshikuni Sachiko, Higurashi Kazuma and Namikaze Minato. Team 6 – Shiraishi Koharu…"

He stopped paying attention then, turning his attention to his two new teammates, standing up (Masato had been assigned to Team 2, with Yamada Shun and one of his fangirls, Hara Nanaho) and making his way over to the only kunoichi in the team, a black-haired girl who could have been an Uchiha if it wasn't for her steel-grey eyes. She leveled him with a stare as he approached, introducing himself and grinning like an idiot. Finally, she accepted the proffered hand, smiling slightly, before introducing herself as Yoshikuni Sachiko, and pointing to the sleeping fat boy next to her as being Higurashi Kazuma.

"Alright!" Kaito-sensei slammed his hands on the desk. "You have a break of 45 minutes. Your jounin-senseis will be here to pick you up after lunch, so don't be late! Dismissed!"

The class dispersed, teammates getting into small groups and talking with each other, excitedly, or yelling at each other, depending on the case. Masato gave him a small wave, before going back to arguing loudly with his male teammate, while the girl looked on in confusion.

As for his team, they apparently weren't talkers – the girl was serious, almost too serious, and the boy, Kazuma, seemed to be able to fall asleep anywhere. Deciding it wasn't to his taste, he poked him in the ribs, sending a slight jolt of chakra through them. The fat boy yelped, jumping almost a foot in the air, before turning towards him, eyes wide and mouth agape:

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!!"

He grinned. "Hi! I'm your new teammate!"

His grin turned to a laugh as his teammate's face contorted comically in confusion and slight bewilderment. Sachiko rolled her eyes, wondering how she could have ended up on a team with such morons. They finished their lunch in relative silence, before Sachiko stood up, dusting her pants. "Come on you two, it's time to go back inside anyway."

They made their way back to the classroom in silence – there wasn't much to say, and Kazuma was still annoyed at him for his prank. He didn't mind, he remembered the grey-haired boy having a good sense of humor. He was probably more upset that he'd gotten one up on him. He was right of course. Five minutes after they sat down, Kazuma started chuckling, his head sinking into his arms as he tried to muffle his laughs. His own grin widened, and even Sachiko smiled a little.

"Oi, Team 5? Come with me."

The tall man standing in the doorway didn't even wait for them, turning around and speeding down the hall, and the three genin hopefuls exchanged confused glances before they scrambled out of their seats and followed, barely catching sight of long white hair turning up the stairs. When they finally made it to the roof, where their apparent Jounin-sensei had led them, they were panting slightly. The man laughed.

"Not in good shape huh? Not good for shinobi, ya know."

His hands on his knees and still trying to recuperate from the mad chase, he glared at the man through his bangs. _'That bastard! He purposefully led us around, keeping just out of sight and going around the academy at least five times! And now he __**laughs**__? Oohh, he definitely deserves the prank I've got coming for him!'_

He didn't say anything though, merely settling for glaring. On his left, he could feel the glares his teammates were also directing to their sensei.

"Maa, maa, your face will get stuck like that if you keep it up any longer." The voice was jovial, if a bit gravely, and he finally lifted his head to meet the eyes of his new sensei. The man was tall, probably the tallest man he'd ever seen. He was broad of shoulders as well, and wore the standard jounin outfit, fingerless gloves and armguards. He had long spiky white hair, not unlike his own, a wart on the left side of his nose, and kind, laughing black eyes, with two red lines running down his cheeks. His glare intensified, lips drawn into a thin line.

"Maa, chibi, what did I just say? You need to smile more, smile!" Saying so, the man tugged his cheeks upwards in an attempt to make him smile, and he quickly swatted him away, only to find that his hands only met air. When had he…?

"Okay brats, let's start by introducing ourselves! You, start!"

"Ano, sensei…" started Kazuma, only to trail off as the black eyes shifted towards him. "Ano…could you give us an example?"

The three of them turned expectantly towards their teacher, waiting for his answer. The man was silent a moment, before suddenly jumping up and performing some kind of…dance - he wasn't sure if he was seeing correctly - yelling at the top of his lungs. When he was finished, they got their hands off their ears, and Sachiko deadpanned:

"That was lame, sensei. Please repeat, clearly."

There was another comical moment, during which the man face-faulted and cried anime-style, before his mood did another one-eighty and he was once again serious.

"Fine. Brats these days have no appreciation for style anyway. My name's Nakayama Jiraiya. I like hot springs (cue the perverted giggle), writing, and toads. I dislike…(cue painful shudder and rubbing head in phantom pain) some things, my hobbies are writing and annoying my old teammates, and my dreams for the future are writing a bestseller. Your turn Chubby!"

Kazuma puffed his cheeks slightly in anger, before introducing himself in the same manner. "My name's Higurashi Kazuma! I like weapons and genjutsu and uh…(embarrassed blush and glance towards Sachiko), I dislike spiders, my hobbies are training with weapons and telling jokes. Dreams…it'd be cool to be a genjutsu master."

Jiraiya-sensei raised an eyebrow, and he felt himself mirroring the action. Genjutsu masters were pretty rare among boys, who preferred a more direct approach. "Interesting. You, Brood Girl."

Sachiko wasn't pleased with the nickname, but answered nonetheless, her chin and nose up in defiance. "My name is Yoshikuni Sachiko. My likes are none of your business, and I dislike perverts. You don't need to know my hobbies. My goal is to become a strong kunoichi and join the hunter-nin division."

No comment from their teacher, who just shifted his gaze to the last member of the team. "Go ahead, Chibi."

He tugged on one blond lock hanging on the side of his face, feeling rather out of sorts. He didn't really have a specialty, and while he was a ninjutsu-type, he didn't have such clear goals as his teammates. _'Might as well tell them what I tell everyone else.' _He thought.

"My name is Namikaze Minato! I like ramen, cats, and pranks! My dislikes are bullies and fangirls, 'cause they always annoy my friend! My hobbies are gardening and jutsus, as well as planning pranks! My dream…well, I haven't really thought about one."

He grinned, his introduction finished, and waited for their teacher to speak. He didn't have to wait long.

"Well, looks like I've got an interesting team. Meet me tomorrow at training grounds 3-11 at 0700 sharp!" (AN: that's seven in the morning if you didn't know)

"Hai!" Three voices answered simultaneously. Their sensei jumped on the railing, and, almost as an afterthought, turned back to them.

"Oh, and don't eat breakfast. You'll throw up. Ja ne!" And the strange jounin was gone, leaving behind three confused genin.

Sachiko left rather fast, excusing herself curtly as having a meeting with her family head, and Kazuma left in the opposite direction, looking quite dejected. In normal circumstances, he would have cheered up the round-faced boy, but he had a few things to think about, namely his new team, and he'd rather not be distracted while analyzing what he'd seen.

First off was Higurashi Kazuma. He had a rather outgoing, if lazy personality, and the two of them would get along fairly well. He was rather straightforward for a shinobi, which could be a disadvantage, but his body language was exceptionally hard to read for a genin, and his own observational abilities weren't that great yet. His movements were less wasteful than the average academy-graduate, something which undoubtedly came from the weapons training he received from his family. He also liked genjutsu, a rather odd combination with a weapon-specialty, but could become deadly.

Yoshikuni Sachiko. Outwardly cold and rather uncaring, but had a definite sense of humor. A private person, with the interesting goal to join the hunter-nin, though he had no clue why. He hadn't paid attention to the kunoichi in the class, because for the most part they were fangirls and he and Masato tended to avoid them like the plague. So, not much background info on that. Damn.

And finally, their jounin-sensei, Nakayama Jiraiya. Very fast, as expected of a jounin. A master at concealing his abilities. He seemed extremely open and outgoing for a shinobi, but his eyes told a whole different story from his body-language. And even then, he was sure that he'd let him – a genin! – see through his charade intentionally. There had been a moment, when he'd done his introduction, when the man's black eyes had locked with his, and he'd nearly faltered. When he said he had no dream…there was disappointment there. Somehow, that was reason enough for him to want to find a dream right there and then, some kind of lifelong goal which he would strive for.

He started, realizing the man had earned his respect without him knowing when. Smiling, and more than a little confused, he made his way home, eagerly awaiting the next day.

_**0900 hours, training grounds 3-11, the next day…**_

'_Kuso! Kuso kuso KUSO! Could I be anymore stupid!'_

The test hadn't gone so well. Jiraiya-sensei had arrived late – grinning like a loon, and a bruise on his face – before presenting them with their mission: they were to try and take a bell from him, in the allotted time given, in order to pass and become official genin. Problem was, there were only two bells and three of them.

They'd each hidden in a part of the forest, trying various ways to get the bells. His trap (which he had been so proud of) had worked…for a total of half a second. After which he'd found himself buried up to his neck in earth, and Jiraiya had sauntered off to trap the other two. Luckily enough, he'd managed to extract himself from the ground, and after a few minutes of thinking, deduced that there was no way he – or any of his teammates – were going to get the bells alone. In other words, they had to team up.

He'd found Kazuma in a similar situation to his own, and dug him up as fast as he could, before he explained he had a plan and they had to find Sachiko, and fast before their sensei found them again. They'd run around, trying to locate Sachiko, and found her strung up like a sausage to tree…upside-down. She wasn't happy. After they got her down, and they'd moved to (what they thought) was a safe location, he'd once again explained they needed to team up. Then had come the discussion of who would fail, since there were only two bells, and Kazuma had offered, saying he had the least stamina on the team, and that the two of them could better grow outside the academy. He'd wanted to protest, but grudgingly admitted that the other boy was right, and they were running out of time, so they'd thrown together a plan.

He'd set his traps as distraction, Kazuma disguising them under what genjutsu he knew, before they'd started their attack, him and Sachiko distracting their sensei as best they could with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu respectively, while both Sachiko and Kazuma tried for the bells and he covered for them with the one Katon jutsu he'd learnt – which had apparently surprised the jounin since academy students weren't supposed to know such techniques.

It had worked, for a few minutes, and they'd almost gotten the bells when the alarm rang and their teacher threw them away like they were nothing. And (he grudgingly admitted) it was most likely the truth.

Now, while Sachiko and Kazuma stood off to the side, trying to catch their breath and not collapse from sheer exhaustion, he was tied to the post. And he definitely wasn't happy.

"DAMN!"

The loud yell echoed across the training grounds. "It's too late to be angry," said the jounin. "You didn't get the bells."

"But I was close! That's no fair!" he yelled, frustration growing inside him as he watched his teammates walk away, not wanting to suffer the humiliation any longer. _'I failed!'_

"It doesn't matter." Replied Jiraiya, not even sweating. "On a mission, there's no such thing as 'being close'."

'_I know that but…' _"Why am I the only one who's tied up?!" Not that he wanted the other two to be tied up, but damn it, they'd **tried. **_'And I failed them,'_ he thought. _'Why couldn't I protect them? It was my job, wasn't it?'_

The white-haired man leaned down so he was at eye-level with the blond, face blank as he began listing the genin's mistakes. "Your trap was a complete failure. You didn't pay any attention to my movements. Besides which…"

The bells tinkled slightly as Jiraiya tightened his fist, face suddenly angry: "Don't EVER try to trick the GREAT JIRAIYA **AGAIN**!"

'_So that's why…'_ Apparently, Jiraiya hadn't appreciated his genjutsu of naked women throwing themselves at him. The fact that they were bald, had three breasts (or none at all) and a few other deformities probably didn't help….Okay, so his genjutsu skills sucked, but it had been funny to watch.

"But…" And he raised his head once more, intrigued by the sudden change. "Even if none of you managed to get the bells…I think I'll take you three as my team. I suppose you weren't so bad."

His eyes widened. They were given a second chance…? They could be genin again…? _'But…what if I fail again? I don't want to fail them again…I don't want to be weak…I want…'_

He bent his head, his bangs hiding his eyes as he tried to reach that feeling that had been at the edge of his consciousness since he'd been tied to the stump, and was now bubbling to the surface. "Hey, did you hear me?" Jiraiya-sensei was worried, but he didn't listen.

'_I want…'_

The feeling was surging forward, flooding his being, warm. Jiraiya was moving towards him.

'…_to be strong…'_

The man knelt in front of him. "Don't make that face – you passed!"

'…_to protect…'_

An image of Sachiko and Kazuma walking away, defeated. Masato waving at him after graduation.

'…_my friends!'_

The feeling burst through the surface, and new determination filled him. He knew what his dream was, and he was gonna do it, that was a promise!

"From now on, I'll teach you…"

He interrupted the man, a grin forming on his lips. "In that case sensei, you're gonna teach" and he lifted his head, blue eyes meeting shocked black, "the future Hokage!"

He didn't know why he said that. All he knew was that he wanted to protect his friends, be strong enough so they could rely on him. But as he said the words, he knew they were true. He was not going to give up, ever./

**oOo**

After that particular memory, he'd reeled back, literally thrown on the ground by the enormity of what he'd just seen – _Ero-sennin! That was Ero-sennin! What the hell?! _– and it took him a moment to get his senses back and working. And that was where he was now, sitting in the middle of the strange hallway with sealed doors of all kinds, somewhere in his mind.

The fact that he **still **couldn't explain what the _fuck_ was going on wasn't helping his mood – and growing headache, although he wondered how he could have a headache _inside_ his mind – at all, hence his rather angry looks. He glanced at the hundred or so doors he'd opened randomly, jumping dozens at a time, before turning back to the seemingly endless hallway full of unsealed memories in front of him.

'_At this pace, I'm never gonna finish this. Not until I'm seventy at least. Kuso, there must be a way to make this shorter, I want answers dammit!'_

Naruto stood up shakily, anger and frustration boiling up inside him, before finally he couldn't contain it anymore. "FUCK IT!! JUST GIVE ME ANSWERS ALREADY!!"

He got his wish – all the doors in the corridor, even those he'd skipped, and those that he could barely see, burst open at once, their seals ripped off and burnt to dust.

All. At. The. Same. Time.

'_Oh shit…'_

And then all hell broke loose.

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**Japanese translations:**

**Kunai & Shuriken: **ninja daggers and throwing stars.

**Shinobi:** another word for ninja

**Sensei: **teacher. Can be used as a suffix. Indicates respect.

**Maa:** as far as I know, just an expression without any precise meaning. A quirk of the language, if you will.

**Ano:** "excuse me" – in this context at least.

**Kunoichi:** female ninja

**Chibi:** small, runt, dwarf. Take your pick :D

**Ja ne: **abbreviated version of goodbye

**Katon: **Fire element (for jutsus. i.e: **Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu** – Fire element: Grand fireball technique)

**Kuso:** Damn

**Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu: **respectively, ninja-techniques, illusionary-techniques, and martial arts-techniques. The different categories of ninja-arts. Can also include kenjutsu (swordsmanship) and Fuuinjutsu (Sealing-arts)

**Hunter-nin:** A special division of the ANBU, dedicated to hunting down and killing missing nin, effectively erasing all traces of their existence. In the Wave arc, Haku was pretending to be one, in order to help Zabuza (the guy with the huge-ass sword)

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Weeeee!! I had incredible fun writing this chapter. It wasn't easy to get Minato's p.o.v, especially when I tried to minimize the use of his name because it **is** his p.o.v after all. I hope you all liked it, and I'd like some feedback on this if possible. And yes, there is another reason for my minimum use of names. Without further ado, on to Q&A! (because this is a ridiculously long chapter as it is…)

**Q: Minato's (Yondaime) character?**

**A: **Kishimoto left Yondaime's character quite open to interpretation (I'm only up to chapter 378 in the manga, so don't go spouting spoilers please), so I played around with it a bit. I made him a mix between Naruto's goofy character, and at the same time quite intelligent. He was hailed as a genius shinobi after all. I made him playful and a prankster because that's exactly what came to mind when I saw the picture of Jiraiya's team on the net. Which is also where I got Yondy's teammates from.

**Q: Yondaime's teammates, ****Yoshikuni Sachiko & Higurashi Kazuma – who are they?**

**A: **These two characters are based on the aforementioned picture (which should be easy to find through Google). There was no background info given, or names for that matter, so I made it all up. Higurashi Kazuma is a character I am placing as being Tenten's father. He has a crush on Sachiko, who he will marry. So, they're one definite couple. I won't be elaborating on these characters or their story too much during this story, as it focuses more on Minato and Naruto. I might, however, write a side-story for them, most likely a one-shot.

**Q: I don't understand them. Can you explain the team a bit more?**

**A: **Minato's team isn't composed like Naruto's. None of them are Rookie of the year, nor are they dead-last. They're average, with very minor specialization. Minato is the ninjutsu-type, Kazuma the genjutsu-type, and Sachiko the taijutsu-type. Yes, Tenten takes after her mother more, but she's also included her father's weaponry into her style. I decided to make a guy the genjutsu specialist for once, since in the picture he didn't look like a taijutsu guy to me. Blame me for trying to be original.

**Q: Is there a reason to why Sachiko wants to be a hunter-nin?**

**A: **yes, there is. She wants to hunt down a particular missing-nin who killed her dad. Classic and cliched, I know, but keep in mind that, while she is closest to Sasuke in mind set, she isn't obsessed by revenge as he is. She smiled, in case you didn't notice. These guys are **average** genin, please keep that in mind. They **are not** Team 7, so don't come to me making wacky comparisons. I'm not trying to fit into the mold here.

**Q: who is Uchiha Masato?**

**A:** My made up character. Completely mine. I **had** to have an Uchiha with fangirls in this. He's the younger brother of Uchiha Fugaku, which would make him Sasuke's and Itachi's uncle. And he's not a typical Uchiha because I hate stereotypes and try to avoid them as much as possible. So let's just say Masato is a bit of a black-sheep, like Obito.

**Q: There are an awful lot of similarities between the past and canon-Narutoverse. Why is that?**

**A:** It's already been stated by Kishimoto that history tends to repeat itself in the Naruto-verse. However, as much as I am drawing parallels, this is all they are. **Parallels.** Those aren't the same people, or situations.

**Q: The conclusion of the genin-test seems familiar. Where have I seen it?**

**A: **If you followed my advice from last chapter, you would have visited kunoichi-san's profile on DeviantArt, and read the Yondaime Gaiden. That's where I got the scene, although I modified it to suit the story. Hope you don't mind Kunoichi-san! I couldn't wait to post the chapter…

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**Well, I think that's it. Reviews are always greatly appreciated, and any opinion or questions you have, I'll do my best to answer. Typos and misspelled words – please point them out to me. **

**Thanks for R&R!**


	7. Chapter 6: Crisis

The Hokage's archives were one of the most heavily protected places in Konoha, and only a select few outside the Hokages thems

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. I only own the plot and original characters (and names). This is called **fan**fiction for a reason folks…

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYONE!! :)

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream / memory

/_words_: memory sequence

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**Chapter 6 – Crisis**

The Hokage's archives were one of the most heavily protected places in Konoha, and only a select few outside the Hokages themselves had access to them. It was constantly under guard by at least two ANBU platoons, and there were numerous traps and seals protecting the place. Getting into the building without proper authorisation was akin to trying to take on the Kyuubi by yourself. Getting into it _with_ the proper authorisation was almost as hard.

At least, that's what the rumor mill said.

Reality was slightly different. The Hokage's archives were indeed well protected, but it was done via anonimity. Passing outside the white, two-story office building, no one would suspect it guarded the village's secrets. The lobby was a normal one, complete with desk and a bored secretary. The rest of the building was composed of typical offices, with typical office people, all more or less bored out of their minds, doing some filing or another. Had anyone walked in, they would think this was just another normal office.

Of course, a ninja's greatest tool is deception, and that held true for this place as well. Most of the people working inside were either ANBU or Tokubetsu jounin in disguise, although there were a few normal citizens there as well – they unknowingly helped keep the cover of a normal business office. The basement, however, was where the real archives were kept, protected by three stories of hard concrete and steel. There, shelves upon shelves of files and scrolls were stored, in one long room with a low ceiling and harsh white overhead lights. Inside the room there was one desk and a chair, placed there so whoever came here could look at the documents – taking them out of the place, unless one was the Hokage, was out of the question.

It is in that room that Jiraiya now was, bent over scrolls and notes from the Yondaime, completed and unfinished projects of all kinds written down in a messy scrawl – those had not been for outsiders' eyes, and Minato apparently felt no need to maintain decorum. The white-haired sennin was getting frustrated, as he had been researching for nearly a week now – a week! And during all that time, Naruto's condition hadn't changed at all. It was worrying, and more than a little scary, to see the normally active blond in such a state. Tsunade was beside herself with worry, and the village was suffering as she neglected her duties to watch over her surrogate little brother. Yet, no one thought about blaming her. Though most villagers still disliked Naruto, all knew how important the blond was to the Godaime, and some had even found themselves praying for the blond's safety, if only for normalcy to return to the village.

"Here is the next batch, Jiraiya-sama."

Jiraiya lifted his head, nodding in thanks to the quiet archivist. The man was ANBU, of course, but was deceptively mild-mannered and frail-looking, though Jiraiya had spotted enough concealed weapons beneath the loose garments to make that Tenten girl jealous. If that wasn't enough, the lethal grace with which the brown-haired young man moved was enough of a clue to say that any suspicious movement would be dealt with…painfully. And most likely fatally. Not that Jiraiya minded. Those archives were far too important for anything less than the best guarding them, and he would have trounced whoever was responsible if it wasn't so.

He grunted, a headache pounding at his temples. _'Damn, where are those notes?!'_

Jiraiya moved aside another pile of notes – something about elemental chakra – before pulling another one towards him. He heard someone knock at the door, but paid it no mind. The young ANBU would take care of whoever was there.

"Jiraiya-sama, there is message for you."

"Unless it's about Naruto, or the world is ending, I don't care."

The ghost of a smile appeared on the archivist's face, before he replied. "Hokage-sama requests your presence at the hospital…"

Jiraiya took off, not even waiting for the end of the message. There was only one reason why Tsunade would call him away from his research, and that reason was a certain newly-promoted blond jounin. Once he was past all the security checks on his way out, Jiraiya made it to the hospital in less than ten minutes, and charged inside and past surprised nurses and doctors on his way to Naruto's room. The door banged against the wall as he opened it, a question already forming on his lips, before he realized there was no one in the room.

'_What…?'_

"Jiraiya-sama."

He turned towards the voice, only to see the grave face of Yamato looking back at him from the end of the corridor. In three long strides, he was standing next to the man.

"Where is he?" There was no need to specify who he was talking about.

Yamato gestured for him to follow, explaining along the way that Naruto's condition had suddenly worsened, and that Tsunade had him moved to one of the emergency rooms, where she was currently waiting for him. When questionned about Naruto's condition, Yamato could only shrug in helplessness.

"He suddenly started convulsing, and would have hurt himself if I hadn't restrained him. Then he started screaming as if in great pain, before falling silent again. Last I saw medics were trying to stabilize him, but it didn't look good."

Jiraiya nodded, his mind working a mile a minute as he tried to figure out what was happening, and what kind of help he could offer – there was no doubt in his mind that this was linked to the strange seals, which they'd all believed to be possession marks from the Kyuubi's presence, and as Tsunade had pointed out before, Jiraiya was Konoha's seals master.

Yamato stopped, indicating a set of double doors with a nod. Jiraiya strode forward, opening the sound-proof doors and entered –

- into chaos.

There were medics running everywhere, nurses hooking strange machines and tubes to the body strapped down on the central table. Bent over the boy stood Tsunade, yelling orders left and right as she poured her chakra into him, desperately trying to stop the violent convulsions, visible even from where Jiraiya was standing.

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_/"- boring!"_

"_Shut it brat."_

"_Minato's right, this is boring." Agreed the kunoichi of the team._

"_Yeah!" Kazuma yelled from some distance away. "Get us a good mission next time sensei!"_

"_Argh, just get back to work will ya? The sooner we finish this mission, the sooner we can all get off each other's back."_

"'_We'? Don't you mean 'us'? Sensei."_

_Jiraiya's only answer was a frustrated cry and more furious scribbling. Laugher erupted as the three genin continued pulling weeds /_

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"Strap him down! He's breaking through!"

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_/"Bloody cat! Get him!"/_

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"His heart rate is accelerating! We need to stabilize him!"

"Blood pressure dropping! We're loosing him!"

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_/the stench of blood was horrible, but the group of one chunin and two genin picked their way across the bodies nonetheless. It was a slaughter, the villagers never got a chance to defend themselves. He could hear Kazuma throwing up behind him, and on his right Sachiko was looking very pale. He imagined he looked the same. He felt rage bubble up inside him._

"_What…what kind of sick __**fuck**__ would do this?!" His tone was anguished, and he felt powerless._

_Their sensei, for once grim-faced and serious, answered without tearing his gaze from the gruesome sight. "The kind Konoha doesn't tolerate." He turned slightly. "Shinobi don't show their emotions, but it doesn't mean we can't feel 'em. Focus your anger on your enemies, don't get over excited. Stay in control, until you're in the privacy of your home at least. Now, spread out and search for survivors. Go."_

_The team nodded. Their first B-rank mission was a failure, they'd been too late, and as they searched the area for survivors of the small farming village, he felt that familiar fire well up inside him. He'd never let something like that happen to his friends and family. He'd get stronger, and protect them all./_

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"Where are the stabilizers I asked for?!"

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_/he jumped from tree to tree, silent as a shadow, his ANBU teammates around him as they patrolled the forest/_

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"Dammit!! Move it people!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

/_blood splattered his uniform as he sliced yet another enemy-nin in half. Seals were made, hands blurring. "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" and nothing was left but ash and cinders and blood soaked cloth and soil/_

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Heart rate is rising still! Hokage-sama, he can't hold up much longer!"

"I know that! Prepare to restrain the chakra on my command!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

_/He made his way to the Hokage's office, curious about the new mission. Sandaime made him sit down, asking how he was after the last mission. He answered mechanically, still numb to the horrors he'd witnessed, even though he should be used to them by now. The four-man ANBU team had been crippled, with two dead - Kazuma was injured badly enough they weren't sure he could continue being an active shinobi. He'd been injured too, but Kazuma had protected him…He felt sick again, thinking how he'd almost lost his friend._

_Sandaime looked at him in silence for a long moment, before he finally made his decision. "I think you should quit ANBU, my young friend." He lifted a hand, the young shinobi's protests dying in his throat. "The Academy students just graduated, with an uneven amount of students this year. How would you like teaching a team?"_

_Sarutobi smiled, and even though he'd asked, Minato knew this anything but a request. It was an order. He should have expected it really, he'd joined ANBU nearly five years ago, and was already 20 years old. He sighed quietly. Maybe this was for the best. _

"_Who will be on my team?"_

"_Two of the recently graduated students, one Uchiha Obito, and Inuzuka Rin."_

"_What about the third member?"_

"_Ah, yes. You'll be getting a recently promoted chunin. I feel he is a bit too young to be on his own yet though, having lost his previous team. Have you heard of Hatake Kakashi?"/_

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Hokage-sama!!"

beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"_**NO!**_"

"Defibrilators, now!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

/_"Obito! Stop annoying Kakashi! Kakashi! You should know better than encourage him!"_

_The silver-haired chunin leapt at his black-haired teammate, but he caught the ten-year old mid-leap, holding him under his arm. Obito, in a similar situation on the other side, tried taking a swing at the other, but his arms were too short. Kakashi crossed his arms, pouting, though he would never admit to it. Rin, standing next to them, was looking worried, torn between laughing, reprimanding her teammates for being stupid, and feeling guilty for not stopping them before their sensei arrived._

_He sighed. Why had he accepted to take on a genin team again?/_

-.-.-.-.-.-

Jiraiya watched, horrified and powerless, as Naruto's body slumped motionless onto the table, before convulsing once, twice, three times as electricity was pumped into his body.

"Up the voltage!"

Another shock. And another. For two minutes, the medics worked to get his heart restarted.

For two minutes, Naruto was dead.

-.-.-.-.-.-

_/"You're late! Obito!"_

_The other boy scratched his head sheepishly as Kakashi berated him._

"_Ah…No…On the way, I had to show the way to an old woman carrying luggage…plus there was something in my eye…"_

"_WHAT? That's a lie!"_

"_Hey, don't talk like that Kakashi!"_

_Listening to his team arguing, he wanted to laugh at Obito's stupid excuse, but that would just encourage him and make Kakashi even more angry, and they had a mission to complete, so he decided to temporize. _

"_You went with the old lady, didn't you Obito?"_

"_I carried her luggage too!"_

_Kakashi turned his ire on their jounin-sensei. "You're a real pushover…every single time. You should be angry at Obito. Those ninjas who don't follow the rules and regulations are trash! That's how it is!"_

_He laughed nervously under the dark gaze his student directed at him. Really, he wished the twelve year old would loosen up a bit. He'd have to have a talk with the teen after this, even though the team was no longer his responsibility. In the meantime, they had a war to fight./ _

-.-.-.-.-.-

beep

"We've got him! What's the blood pressure?"

-.-.-.-.-.-

_/"It's the Yellow Flash! Retreat!"/_

-.-.-.-.-.-

beep

"Rising and stabilizing, Hokage-sama! He's gonna make it!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

/"_I'm sorry I wasn't in time, Kakashi. I heard it all from Rin…" And he felt like crying too when he saw the raw pain and anguish in the mismatched eyes./_

-.-.-.-.-.-

beep

Relief flooded the room, and Jiraiya slumped to the floor, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. _'Kami-sama, we nearly lost him…'_

beep

Jiraiya had never been happier to hear the electronic beeping from the heart rate monitor. Pushing himself off the floor, he made his way towards the slightly less chaotic center of the room, where Naruto had stopped convulsing and seemed to be breathing steadily once more. "Tsunade…" he put a hand on her shoulder, and the Godaime turned towards him. She had tears in her eyes, but was smiling nonetheless.

"He's fine. He's made it. He's fine."

He gathered her in his arms as they took the boy away, his condition stable once more. Rubbing comforting circles on the blond's back, Jiraiya whispered nonsensical words to her. He knew she was taking the near-miss harder than him – Tsunade had always been very sensible, despite her harsh exterior and calous words, and it had never showed more than in that instant. The medics left after he glared at them, chasing them out of the room and leaving them to their privacy. After a few minutes, Tsunade finally stopped her hysterics, whipping her nose with the back of her hand. 

"Thanks," she muttered.

"You're welcome." He replied. Then: "You still owe me a new shirt though. This one's soaked-through."

She laughed, hiccuping. "I really though I was going to lose him. I couldn't…"

"Shh…I know. Let's go see him now, okay? Then you can buy me a drink for giving me such a scare. And maybe I'll buy you one too, you could use a drink or three I'm sure."

She laughed again, whipping her face clean of tears as best she could, before they made their way towards Naruto's room. Once there, Tsunade made a beeline to his bedside, checking once again to make sure her otouto was alright. Brushing soft blond strands off Naruto's face, she gasped. "Jiraiya!"

Alarmed, the white-haired sennin made his way to the other side of the bed, before gasping himself as he caught sight of Naruto's face clearly for the first time since he'd arrived. And indeed, there was reason to: the strange seals on Naruto's cheeks had completely disappeared, leaving behind unmarred skin and a **very** familiar face.

"Minato…" He murmured. _'Holy shit, the kid looks like a carbon-copy of his father now!'_ And it was true too: Naruto's face, as he grew up, looked more and more like Minato's, and without the whisker marks most had come to associate with the blond, there was no more difference between the two, aside from maybe the hair-length. Jiraiya snorted, receiving a strange look from his ex-teammate. He shrugged, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I just find it funny that the kid's got all his father's looks and personality. Kushina-chan must be wailing in despair up in heaven."

Tsunade chuckled, before turning serious once more. "What does this mean, Jiraiya? What happened?"

"You're the one who can tell me that. I'm no medic. But I can surmise that the seal has run its course and done its job, whatever that was. I couldn't find any information while searching the archives, but then again reading Minato's handwriting can be quite challenging. I'll try to find those notes I told you about, but I'd like to know what Naruto's condition is like first."

Tsunade nodded, relief and worry fighting for dominance inside her. "Well, as I said he's fine. His condition moved to critical earlier today, when Yamato found him convulsing and screaming in pain." Jiraiya nodded, having heard the tale earlier. "Then his vitals started fluctuating, badly. His chakra levels were going haywire. We had to move him to the emergency room." She choked back a sob. "Y-You saw how bad it was in there, Jira. We nearly lost him. I don't know what that seal did to him, but if it happens again, I don't think he'll make it."

Jiraiya was stunned. Never had he imagined it would be quite as bad. Tsunade continued, still stroking Naruto's hair absent-mindedly, seeking comfort into an action that had become familiar over the last week. "The stress on his brain suddenly spiked, messing with his nervous system badly. That's what got him all messed-up, I think. The brain was sending messages completely randomly and much faster than normal. It was like he was fighting a war in matter of minutes." She started crying again, silent tears running down her cheeks and falling onto the bed.

Jiraiya reached across the bed, catching her free hand in his. "Hey, he's alright now. The seal's gone, I don't think it will happen again. I told you before it had something to do with his mind, right? How's the stress on his brain now?"

"Slowly dropping back to normal." She whispered.

"Then that means its purpose is done. Now, all we can do is wait for Naruto to wake up." He smiled gently, a rare side of him showing. "Get some sleep Hime," and Tsunade smiled at the old nickname, "I'll watch over him."

She nodded, exiting the room with a quiet "thank you", and Jiraiya settled into the hospital chair for the long night ahead.

'_Kami-sama, Naruto, you better wake up soon. I don't think either of us could take it if we lost you.'_

**oOo**

_/__"There is no guarantee that this will work."_

"_I know."_

"_And you will die whether it succeeds of not."_

"_I know."_

_Another stare, steel grey to sky blue, a sigh. _

"…_I will miss you, my friend…"_

"…_I know."_

_A flash of red. The howl of a beast of nightmares.__ Then…_/ _-_

_-_

- …nothingness.

He doesn't know how long he stayed there, but when he next wakes up, it is to the distant buzz of voices, overlaping each other. He opens his eyes, catching sight of a white ceiling and colored blurs, before closing them again. He is too tired to deal with anything right now, and welcomes the familiar darkness of sleep.

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**Japanese translations:**

**Tokubetsu Jounin: **Special Jounin. I have no idea how this works, I just know it's a ninja rank, like for Ebisu , or Anko.

**otouto: **little brother

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**Author's notes: (**squeals) I love JiraiyaxTsunade!! XD Hum (cough) Don't mind me, I'm in fangirl mode. (grins)

**Q: Jiraiya and Tsunade? O.o**

**A:** I'm in love with this pairing. I think they look cute together – which was inspired by the following picture: croaky./art/ Could-ve-Should-ve-17667367 (take the spaces out). Seriously, I dig JiraiyaxTsunade.

**Q: Do you even know anything about medical treatment?**

**A: **Nope. Nada. Zilch. Rien du tout. I don't know squat about operations, or medicines, or whatever happens in a hospital. I hate needles, so I tend to avoid the place. So, that little scene where Naruto almost died was completely made up. Any doctors among my readers…I'm sorry if I offended you or your chosen profession.

**Q: The composition of genin teams?**

**A: **My theory, based on the Kakashi Gaiden, is that a team stays together until one of two things happen: 1) they all get promoted to chunin, in which case the jounin-sensei doesn't necessarily need to accompany them, or 2) one on the team makes jounin, in which case that person replaces the sensei as leader of the team.

**Q: If the Hokage's archives are where the village secrets are stored, how come the Scroll of Seals wasn't put there?**

**A:** I made up the place you know. So, we're just gonna say that for whatever reason the Sandaime had taken it out that week, and Mizuki heard about it so he decided to trick Naruto that time.

Reviews aren't necessary, but they **do** let me know someone read **and **liked my fic. So R&R please, pretty please? (puppy-eyes no jutsu!) XD


	8. Chapter 7: Deception

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**EDIT:** Changed some of the tenses in the first two paragraphs. Read AN for additional info.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. I only own the plot and original characters (and names). This is called fanfiction for a reason folks…

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream / memory

/_words_: memory sequence

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**Chapter 7 – Deception**

When he woke up again, it was to the assault of so many powerful feelings they almost hurt physically. Anger. Pain. Loss. But above all, betrayal, so deep that it made Sasuke's treason pale in comparison. A cry rose up in his throat, coming out as a half-sob, half-scream, nearly choking him as he tried and failed to contain the white hot tears trailing down his cheeks.

'_How could they?!'_

The question spun in his mind, angry thoughts alternating with utter despair. He laid there, clenching the sheets in his fists, almost painfully so, eyes closed and biting the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming. It was a long time before his raging emotions settled down enough for him to finally start thinking rationally, and even then his control was tedious at best.

Hours later, there was the rustle of cloth to his left – someone had been in the room with him? Who? – before the person spoke, uncertainty and hope colouring their tone grey and blue.

"Naruto?"

The voice was gravely, rough from sleep, and full of hidden concern.

'_Jiraiya.'_

He opened his eyes then, turning his head slightly before locking gazes with the other man. A sharp intake of breath, and something shifted in those black eyes. The man leaned forward slightly, the hand on the bed twitching slightly in indecision.

"Hey kiddo. How are ya feeling?"

He stares, unblinking, a strange feeling welling up in his chest. He needs to make sure this is real, because things are so fucking unbelievable right now it scares him. So he reaches forward, his arm aching and trembling with the effort. The white-haired man sees the gesture and reaches forward after a moment's hesitation, clasping his hand.

"Sensei…" he whispers, happy and confused. Suddenly, he feels extremely tired and, forgetting about his worries, closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

**oOo**

Jiraiya woke up suddenly, as he is prone to do, going from a deep sleep to complete awareness in an instant. He could hear Naruto's breath hitching, so the kid must be waking up. A quick glance outside told him he'd been sitting there for about nine hours – he must have fallen asleep sometime late in the afternoon, since the stars are just starting to appear in the nightsky.

A muffled sob brought his attention back to the blond teen in the bed, and Jiraiya nearly fell off his chair in shock. Naruto was…crying? He'd seen the kid frustrated, angry, sometimes a bit depressed, but throughout it all, never, not even once, had the young shinobi shed tears. It was like a physical impossibility, and Jiraiya briefly considered the idea that the world was ending.

There was another sob from the blond, breath irregular from trying to suppress the tears. The tanned fists were clenching and unclencing spasmodically on the bed, and Jiraiya was brought back to reality.

"Naruto?" And dammit, but he sounds concerned. He really hoped Naruto didn't notice, because he's sure the teen will tease him about it later – and at the same time he hopes Naruto **does **notice, because the young man should know there are people who care about him. That Jiraiya cares, no matter how much he'd like to deny it.

There is no answer spoken, but the blue eyes open and stare at him, emotions swirling inside, coming and going too fast to make sense. And although it's not the first time Jiraiya has locked gazes with his surrogate son (more often than not it was when they were glaring at each other during training), there was something changed in those eyes this time. A sense of…recognition? Longing? Hope. His breath caught in his throat, he could have sworn that…

For some unexplainable reason, Jiraiya suddenly had an urge to reach forward and hug the annoying brat. Instead, he leant forward slightly, asking in as much unconcerned tones as he could manage: "Hey kiddo. How are ya feeling?"

Naruto still looks at him with those same eyes full of hope, longing and a thousand something else. _'Gods, what happened to him?'_

The blond teen didn't answer, but once more his body spoke for him as he lifted a trembling hand, like all the strength has been sapped away. This time, Jiraiya resisted the urge for a total of half a second before he grabbed the reaching hand in his own. Naruto smiled one of his rare true smiles, falling asleep after murmuring something inaudible, his hand loosely holding Jiraiya's.

It takes a few long minutes before Jiraiya finally lets go, still puzzled by the word he read on the blond lips. _'Since when does Naruto call me "sensei"?...Mh, maybe the world __**is**__ ending after all.'_

He smirked. Nah. Naruto hasn't become Hokage yet, the world can't end before that. Getting up in silence, Jiraiya stuck his head out the door and into the seemingly empty hospital hallway.

"Go tell Tsunade the brat woke up," before retreating back inside and onto the chair once more.

Outside, an ANBU materializes out of the wall, dispelling the genjutsu before disappearing in a puff of smoke towards the Godaime's office.

**oOo**

After the ANBU had left her office, Tsunade called on Shizune, telling her she was headed to the hospital. Shizune nodded – the younger woman was tired, having worked double time since Naruto was hospitalized.

"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama, I'll finish up here."

Tsunade smiles gratefuly. It's times like these she's truly thankful for her apprentice's thoughtfulness. Twenty minutes later, and she is in the hospital, making her way up stairs that are becoming far too familiar, and strides past the hidden ANBU she assigned to guard Naruto.

Jiraiya is sitting in the chair when she enters the room, his gaze fixed on the boy in the bed and a thoughtful look on his face. As the door clicks shut, he shifts his eyes to her, nodding in greeting. Naruto is sleeping again – she'd hoped he'd still be awake, but apparently she would have to wait.

"Did he say anything?" she asks.

Jiraiya shakes his head. "No. Whatever that seal did though made him…well, I don't know what it did to him, but it's the first time I've ever seen him cry."

Tsunade has no answer to that. She can only hope, and pray that it is enough.

**oOo**

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Ninjas and civilians alike wince as they hear the Godaime's yell, shuddering at the killer intent in the air.

"We- we don't k-kn-know, Hokage-sama! He s-suddenly di-disappeared!"

Two seconds later and the unfortunate chunin was imbedded into the wall, courtesy of one super-powered right hook from one pissed off blond Hokage.

"Find him! NOW!" Tsunade roars. Chunin, jounin and even ANBU scramble, stumbling over each other in an attempt to escape the Hokage's wrath, leaving the tower as fast as they can. This is what Jiraiya finds when he arrives at the Hokage Tower two days later, having just come back from the archives once more, this time with some results.

"Oi, Hime, what's going on?"

Tsunade turns her infamous Death Glare on him, and Jiraiya gulps. Then the woman realizes just who is standing at the entrance to her office and sits down with a groan, massaging her temples. The Gama-sennin waits patiently – he doesn't feel like being punched to the other side of Konoha, not today anyway. Finally, Tsunade sighs and lifts her head.

"Naruto disappeared from his room today."

"WHAT?!"

"The nurse came in for his noon check-up and he was gone, and the window open. The ANBU didn't feel or hear a thing."

"How the hell is that possible? Naruto may be stealthy, but not enough to evade skilled ANBUs. They didn't notice anything?"

"No. But Boar tells me that there was no sign of an outsider entering the room. They had Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru make sure, even got a Hyuuga to check. Nothing."

"Shit."

"My thoughts exactly."

"Any ideas?"

"None, but I've given orders that everyone keep an eye out for that blond idiot. And when they find him, I'm gonna pound him into the ground."

Jiraiya chuckled, before remembering why he was there in the first place. His face turned serious and Tsunade, noticing this, motioned for him to take a seat as she awaited his report.

"I found something interesting while digging around the archives."

A delicate brow was arched. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It doesn't have anything to do with that blasted new seal, but it's about the Shiki Fūjin, so I figured you'd be interested." Leaning forward, Jiraiya laid down some of his notes for her to see. "I didn't get the whole thing, it was mostly just mentionned on the side of other stuff, but it turns out the Shiki Fūjin wasn't designed to seal a demon in a Jinchuuriki after all."

There's a sharp intake of breath from the woman sitting across the desk, terror welling up inside her –

"No need to panic. It wasn't designed to hold a demon _originally._" Tsunade lets out a breath in relief, before directing a questionning look at her ex-teammate. Jiraiya shrugs. "Seems Minato had been working on it to actually hold a demon without endangering the host, unlike the original seal. I'm not sure exactly what he's done with the seal though – last time I had a look at the brat's seal, I still hadn't gone through all the layers it holds, and I've seen a **lot** of them. Makes me think he might have been working on the seal for some time, instead of it being a spur-of-the-moment kinda thing like we thought."

"Any ideas of why he'd have been researching such a thing?"

Jiraiya shrugs again. "No idea, although Minato mentioned something about solidifying an alliance. He didn't say with whom though. Could have been any of Konoha's current or old allies."

The Godaime frowned, her hands folded in front of her face. "It must have been for a country with either an existing jinchuuriki, or one who may have been under threat from a demon at the time."

"Maybe," Jiraiya replied, "but I can't think of any country in such a state at the time, and Konoha doesn't really count. Could it have been Suna?"

"I'm not sure. I'd have to ask the Kazekage to check their records of that time, and about their resident demon. And I'm sure you know it's a touchy subject with him."

It was Jiraiya's turn to frown. "Mh, yes. That Gaara kid can't have been happy about his father's decision to make him a Jinchuuriki from birth. Although I can't for the life of me understand why Kayaku would do that. The Yondaime Kazekage was no fool."

"Indeed."

They sat together discussing the possibilities and implications of this new discovery until late in the afternoon. Shizune or Sakura would sometimes come in, carrying paperwork or tea, and occasionally both, barely noticed by the two sennin. Periodically, a ninja would also enter the room to report the progress of the search, although there had been no sign of Naruto all day. They knew he hadn't left the village, but that was it. It wouldn't be until the next day that they would know about the blond jounin's whereabouts.

**oOo**

He sat on top of the Hokage Mountain, mere feet from the cliff. The wind blew through his hair, ruffling his already messy blond hair, and he thought maybe he should get a ponytail.

Slowly, the sun's rays shone from behind him, chasing away the greyness of dawn and painting the sky in hues of pink and yellow. Below him, Konoha was waking, coming alive with the colors and sounds which had made him fall in love so long ago. He sat there, listening to the hustle and bustle of a new day, seeing the ninjas who protected the village coming and going, from missions and patrols, and various other tasks they performed relentlessly at all hours of the day and night.

He supposed he should be down there; he had snuck out of the hospital, and Tsunade was bound to be quite angry with him. He should be down there. But he couldn't, not right now.

After waking up in the hospital briefly and seeing his old sensei, his world simply came crashing down, and he'd needed some time alone. He knew his friends – his family – were worried about him, but this was not something he could share with them, not yet.

'_How am I supposed to explain this? For that matter, how come no one seems to know, not even those closest to me?'_

He could understand the council – considering how they'd treated him, he had no doubt that if they'd known of his true identity he would have ended up as a puppet for them, when his body was still too young to protect himself. Best they didn't know. At least now he would have the satisfaction of pulling one up on them, however unvoluntarily.

His eyes narrowed – those old fools were not all that powerful, caring more about their own personal political power, but he knew that where he was concerned, they were still biased. He could hardly blame them – the Kyuubi had killed many shinobi, and many families were decimated, if not entirely wiped out. They had good reason to hate the demon. Still, they ought to have seen past that and realized he wasn't the monster. If they proved themselves to be a problem in the future, he'd have to make sure they were disbanded, or replaced.

'_Actually, the system should be changed. If I remember well, the teammates of the Hokage usually end up on the council.' _He shuddered as he imagined Sakura, or even Sasuke, in a position of such influence.

Thinking of old teammates made him think of Sachiko and Kazuma, and a small smile appeared on his face. He'd have to pay them a visit later. Or not.

They had married before Kyuubi attacked – Kazuma had been forced to retire shortly after, due to serious injuries, but he remembered having met their grown-up daughter, Tenten, when taking the chunin exams three years ago. He supposed it was easier to let them think him dead. They'd have tried to adopt him one way or another if they'd known, and he shuddered to think what the villagers would have done to them and their child if they'd taken in the 'demon brat'. No doubt Sarutobi had a hard enough time stopping them anyway. He'd have to talk to them soon.

Kakashi he was pissed off at the Sandaime for. The boy had still been young when the whole Kyuubi problem happened, for lack of a better term. At the time of the attack, Inuzuka Rin, his other remaining student, was in a coma, and Kakashi kept blaming himself for it. Loosing his sensei so soon after learning there may be a chance she wouldn't survive…He decided he'd have to check up on what had happened to Rin sometime soon. After he'd dealt with Kakashi.

Then there was Jiraiya and Tsunade. He had no clue why they hadn't been told. There was no logical reason to. In fact, it would have done a lot more good than harm. Instead, he had a feeling they both thought he was Yondaime's son – which he found extremely absurd, considering he hadn't even been married at the time, and had just started seeing Kushina…

His heart clenched painfully, and he ruthlessly pushed those memories aside. There would be time to grieve later. Better deal with the living before he tended to the dead.

Going back to his original train of thought, he tried to puzzle out why Sandaime hadn't said anything to his mentor-turned-father and his adopted sister. He had to have known it would hurt them greatly, so why…?

An hour later found him no closer to finding an answer, and he finally gave up, deciding that when the time came for him to confront those two, he'd ask them directly. It wasn't as if he could do anything about it after the fact.

Then there came the matter of his seal.

The Shiki Fūjin was never meant to hold the demon back for so long. When he'd gone into battle that night, he had fully intended to die, and take the monster with him. The purpose of the seal had been to seal a creature – be it human or demon – into the one using the technique, summoning the Shinigami as they did so and, once the target had been sealed, the God would take both and kill them. It could indeed be used to create Jinchuurikis, again at the cost of the life of the caster, but since he had been an adult and had no container at the time…As it was, the demon had proven more powerful than he'd thought, and turned back time for him so that the Shinigami's grasp on them would falter, causing for the demon to be simply sealed and not killed.

He supposed that the reason the Kyuubi had been asleep for so long was because whatever he'd done to overpower the Shinigami and at the same time save them both had drained the demon of his powers quite severely. But while the Shiki Fūjin was a better seal to use when creating a Jinchuuriki, it was far from perfect. Indeed, the longer the demon was awake, the more it had access to it's host's mind and thoughts, influencing them to use its chakra more often. As such, the jinchuuriki would fast become dependant on its power, and given enough time using the power, would weaken the seal to a point where it would break and the demon would be free.

Many believed the Shiki Fūjin to be a stroke of genius on his part, but he had actually been working on it for some time, having heard from his counterpart, the Yondaime Kazekage, that they had a demon problem of their own. He had wanted, at the time, to do something that would help Suna, strengthening their alliance while at the same time getting rid of a demon once and for all when its container died. In the meantime, the jinchuuriki would have been a powerful asset to his village. He had been planning on expanding on the original seal by adding a function which would completely block the demon's influence from the host's mind, while still allowing the jinchuuriki to siphon chakra, when the Kyuubi attacked, and the seal was never completed - its purpose that night had been quite different from creating a jinchuuriki.

Thinking back on it now, he realized his 'death' was probably the reason why Gaara was given such an imperfect seal – the way it had been going back then, it was only a matter of time before the Ichibi no Shukaku escaped its temporary prison. He knew the past was the past, but he couldn't help but feel responsible for his psychotic friend's predicament.

He sighed again, raking his hand through his too-short hair, and absent-mindedly made a note of growing it out. _'I really wish I could rub this into their faces,'_ he thought, glaring a bit at the village below him, _'but I really can't. I'm not ready yet.'_

A wry smile twisted his lips as he thought of his village. Even after all this time, even after all the glares and hate and fear, even after the beatings and unfair treatment, he still wanted to protect them. After seeing the ugliest side of Konoha, he still loved it. His gaze settled once more on the village below him, and his expression softened.

'_Guess I'm still a fool.'_

Namikaze Minato smiled, feeling glad.

**oOo**

When he woke up that morning, Kakashi would have said the day started well. By the time he'd done his customary visit at the Monument, and stared at the names of all the friends he'd lost along the years, offering silent prayers, the sun had started to rise in the east. He could faintly hear the village waking up – the civilians at least. Ninjas among the population didn't have as regular a sleeping schedule, though the majority tried to maintain a certain degree of normalcy.

He'd just decided to get to the mission tower not-so-late for once, and was on the point of setting foot on the path when he'd faintly heard two voices, equally loud, and equally enthusiastic, fast closing-in on his location.

Not wanting to deal with Gai and his not-so-mini-clone so early in the morning, he'd come to the logical conclusion and promptly decided he would take the scenic route back to the village instead.

The 'scenic route' was actually a rarely traveled trail which wound to the side of the small hill the K.I.A monument was placed on, and while it had a most beautiful view of the village and ancient trees bordering it, there was one thing which deterred most people from taking it. The hill the monument was on overlooked the village cemetary, and the path stood on a ledge circling it for a good five minutes at a fast walk. Considering this was a ninja village, and the death toll was more significant, not many people liked to be reminded of their loss when simply walking, and as such avoided it as much as possible. That wasn't to say the people of Konoha didn't honor their dead, but how would you like to remember how many had been lost when walking to do some grocery shopping?

Kakashi was one of the few people who didn't mind – after all, he confronted his ghosts on a daily basis. He didn't often take the trail, but this one time (though he'd never admit it, not even to Ibiki) he was grateful to Gai for making him take it. Just as he was about to round the bend that would take him out of sight of the cemetary, he caught sight of sunny-blonde hair among the tombstones.

'_Naruto?'_

Sure enough, when he jumped down to investigate, he found his wayward student collapsed in front of a group of graves. The boy was unarmed, but cold to the touch, not to mention completely drenched.

'_Did he spend the night here or something? He's soaked to the bone!'_

For a brief moment, he considered taking the unconscious teen to the hospital, but given the fact that the Godaime wouldn't have let him leave if he wasn't at least better …and how much he hated hospitals…well, there was still his apartment. Besides, Naruto didn't seem to be hurt in any maner – he even unveiled his sharingan to make sure. As far as he could tell, the blond was simply sleeping, albeit in a rather strange location, and quite deeply too. His decision made, Kakashi gathered the still sleeping blond into his arms and took off, snorting at how trusting the other was to remain oblivious during the whole trip.

When they'd arrived at the run-down apartment, Kakashi had striped the younger man of his soaked outer garments and slipped him under the covers. A quick glance at the clock informed him it was nearly nine, and that he was suitably late. He'd just come back from a mission yesterday, and had collapsed straight into bed, promising himself he'd deliver the report the next day.

'_Oh well, it's not like anyone expects me to be on time, and besides it's my day off.'_

Shrugging, he made his way to the mission tower at a reasonably fast pace, before strolling inside with his trusty Icha Icha Paradise out…and nearly got bowled over by a running chunin. The poor man apologized, before leaving as fast as he could. Now that he actually paid attention, Kakashi realized that a lot of people seemed to be leaving the tower as fast as possible, and those that remained had a rather comical look of fear. Even the one ANBU he encountered was rather subdued.

This behaviour continued until he reached the actual mission room, getting steadily worse, and he suddenly had a sense of foreboding. Unfortunately, he did have to report in at some point this morning, and he'd rather get that out of the way.

'_Ah. Well, that explains it.'_

Sitting behind the mission desk was the Hokage herself, and while she certainly wasn't shouting, the look of fury on her face - not to mention the rather controlled killing intent suffusing the air surrounding her– told him enough. She was Pissed Off, and that was a Bad Thing (all caps intentional). The copy-cat ninja seriously considered turning around at that point, but (unfortunately) he'd been spotted.

"Kakashi-san."

He sighed, and resisted the temptation to look heavenward. Why couldn't he get a break? "Hokage-sama. Here's my mission report from last night." He handed her the scroll. "If you'll excuse me, I believe it is my day off so I'll take my leave right n-"

"Hatake-san."

There was no denying the order in her voice, especially when she used his family name, so he turned around and fixed a lazy eye on his leader. "Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"You don't happen to know where Naruto is, do you?"

'_Ah. So this is about Naruto. Figures, when he gets her angry, I'm the one who gets in trouble. Dammit.'_

"He's in his apartment, resting. Did he do something?"

Tsunade sighed in relief, her lips twitching, though she didn't smile. "Not that I'm aware of. Are you the one who found him?"

"Hai."

"Where?"

"In the cemetary, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade gave him an incredulous look. _'I would too, if I hadn't found him there myself.'_

"The cemetary? What was he doing?" He turned towards the owner of the voice, a young chunin by the name of Iruka, whom he remembered disagreeing with a few years ago. Ironically, the subject of their disagreement at the time had been Naruto.

Kakashi took a look at the rest of the room's occupants, clearly indicating that he'd rather not have so many hear him. Tsunade caught on and dismissed them, telling Iruka to come back in when she called him, or when Kakashi left, whichever came first. Only when the door had closed did he answer.

"He was sleeping actually. I found him unconscious, collapsed in front of a group of tombstones, but suffering no apparent harm. He was soaked to the bone, and had obviously cried himself to sleep, if the tearmarks on his face are any indication. I took him back to his apartment, and as far as I know he's still sleeping."

He fell silent, and Tsunade furrowed her brow in thought. There wasn't anyone Naruto would visit in the cemetary…unless…

"Kakashi, do you recall the names that were on the graves?"

"I didn't really pay attention to them, Hokage-sama, though I'm sure I could find them again, if you wanted me to," he replied, his one visible eye curving up in a trademark smile. "They were surrounded by a peculiar type of white ivy, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

There was a sharp intake of breath, and he focused back onto the Hokage's face. She, however, betrayed no such actions, her face blank. Too blank actually, as if someone had slapped her in the face with a cold fish (he had to refrain from giggling at that thought). His eye narrowed slightly, but other than that, Kakashi said nothing: it wasn't his place.

Silence stretched on. "Hokage-sama?" The brown eyes focused back on him. "Was there anything else?"

Tsunade seemed to consider him for a moment, before she started speaking again. "Kakashi, would you mind watching over Naruto today? Something seems to have disturbed him greatly since he woke up, and I don't think he wants to go back to the hospital." /_there aren't many other people I trust with his safety_/ went unsaid, but he heard the words nonetheless.

He eye-smiled again. "Of course, Hokage-sama." _'Not like I had any choice. Ah well.'_

"Thank you. You are dismissed. Oh, and do send Umino-san and the others back in."

"Hai, hai."

After getting out of the building, Kakashi checked back at the apartment, taking note that Naruto was still asleep. It was almost ten o'clock and Kakashi assumed (quite rightly) that the blond ninja would be hungry when he woke up, and so set out to make brunch. A quick look at the cupboards revealed a lot of instant ramen, and a few other things, but the rare few fresh produce in his fridge had long gone bad, since no-one bothered checking while Naruto was in the hospital.

'_Truth be told, I'm surprised he even had fresh produce to begin with.'_ He sighed. _'Ah well, time to go shopping I guess. I wonder what I can make? Mmh…Something simple. Bacon & Eggs? Sounds good. Maybe some toast with that. And tea. Tea's always good. Although I'd prefer sake myself...Heh, sake-flavored tea? Nah…'_

A half-hour of idle musings and shopping later and he was back, enjoying his rare day off, before setting to work in the kitchen. He'd heard some movement from the bedroom, and had no doubt his host would soon be awake. The toasts had just popped out, and he was feeling rather cheerful as he transfered the scrambled eggs onto the plastic plates he'd dug up from the cupboards, going as far as humming a tuneless song. The man turned back to the bacon, and neatly slid them alongside the eggs.

'_Now, where are the butter knives? Ah!'_ Finding said items, Kakashi gathered the plates and turned around to place them on the table – and faced a ghost.

'_Minato-sensei!?'_

He was so shocked by the vision of his deceased sensei, calmly sitting at the kitchen table and gazing at him quietly, that the plates slipped from his grasp. Lightning fast, the other man grabbed them out of the air and set them at the table, proving he was no apparition, before quirking an amused eyebrow at him. "Ohayo, Kakashi."

He gaped.

His mind screeched to a halt as the blond man smiled that same smile he'd have whenever someone on the team had done something particularly funny. The blond walked past him, getting the toast and butter to the table, before sitting back down opposite him.

"Aren't you gonna sit down? It smells rather good. Didn't know you were such a good cook." It was even the same voice, slightly younger but…

"Na- Naruto?!"

"Mmh…?"

He wasn't aware he'd sat down, but as he stared unabashedly at his one-time student, he could have sworn he saw something like vague amusement in the blue depths, as if the blond was playing some kind of great prank on him.

'_The hell? When did he start looking so much like sensei?'_

He was being a hypocrite of course – Naruto had always looked like his father. Although there had been no solid proof (that he was aware of anyway), there had never been any doubt in his mind that the two were related. The father-son relationship wasn't that hard to figure out either, seeing as his sensei didn't come from a clan, and his only remaining family would have been Yamanaka Inoichi's father – a second degree cousin, from what Kakashi had gleaned during one of those rare conversations when Minato-sensei would share personnal information. As it was, not many people had blond hair of that particular shade in Konoha, or eyes that blue.

"Are you gonna eat that? 'Cause it's getting cold. Of course, it's not ramen but I'll take what I can get."

"Hey! You should be grateful I cooked for you!" Yep, that was definitely amusement in Naruto's eyes. Kakashi narrowed his eye, but started eating nonetheless. No sense wasting food.

The two of them stayed mostly silent while they ate, which was a feat in itself considering who one of the two participants was. Remembering Tsunade's warning, Kakashi kept shooting veiled suspicious glances at the not-quite-a-boy. Said boy wasn't as oblivious to his gazes as one might think, if the amused grin he shot his companion was any indication.

'_I'm missing something here. Is he playing with me or something? But that wouldn't be like Naruto. That boy never thinks about tricking people. Well, except when playing a prank. Mmh, but maybe Jiraiya-sama beat that out of him?' _

Then, Kakashi realized that something rather essential was missing indeed, and was the cause for his initial confusion: "What happened to your whisker-marks?"

"Didn't need them anymore, so they disappeared."

The answer was infuriatingly vague, and could mean any number of things. _'Argh, maybe Jiraiya-sama __**did**__ teach him the art of deception. Dammit. And here I was hoping for an easy answer. Why meeee?'_

"Oh? Care to elaborate Naruto?"

The blond didn't answer immediately, instead polishing off his plate, quietly thanking him for the meal. He nodded, not taking his focus off the other. There was still the possibility of a prank on Naruto's part. But then Naruto gave him a long, serious look, and Kakashi had to fight the urge to squirm. The ressemblance between the teenager sitting before him and his old teacher was eerie, right down to The Look©. Finally, his host spoke, apparently having considered his words _very_ carefully:

"I-" A moment's hesitation, then: "It's nothing."

Kakashi stared at his old student suspiciously. Naruto was indeed hiding something, but what? In response to his stare, the blond only grinned before getting up to wash the dishes. Kakashi knew he should probe deeper, but decided against it. If Naruto wanted to trust him with his secrets, he would do it on his own time, and Kakashi could very well wait.

That didn't mean he wouldn't try for any other sort of information though.

"I found you this morning."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that. Thanks for bringing me home."

"Not a problem. Although I'd like to know what you were doing in the cemetary."

The blonde didn't miss a beat, replying cheekily. "What most people do in cemetaries I suppose: visit departed loved ones and pay my respects."

"Oh? Can I ask who?"

"That, is none of your business." The tone was just as cheeky and carefree as before, but it had a cold undertone, and made Kakashi look up from his book in surprise. Naruto continued drying the dishes, placing them one by one in the cupboard, and Kakashi knew he wouldn't get anymore out of him. Not for now anyway. He sighed. _'Maa, why do I always get the difficult ones?' _He considered that for a second or two, then: _'…I don't think I want to know the answer to that…'_

He looked at Naruto again. "Tsunade-sama was worried about you."

There was an embarassed chuckle as Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I, um, kinda snuck out of the hospital. I suppose she's been terrifying everyone about finding me?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Hai, it was an amusing sight to see. You missed out."

The blond threw him a _look_, indicating he knew perfectly well that Kakashi had been as scared as anyone else there. In retaliation, the jounin did what he did best: he took out his little orange book and started to read, making his way to the door in-between perverted giggles.

"I'll be around if you need me," he said, then was gone.

He could hear Naruto's laugher all the way down to the street, and Kakashi smiled. It was only hours later that he realized the blond hadn't called him "sensei" even once during their talk.

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**Author's notes: **So….how many of you saw this coming? (grins)

Anywho, yes, this **is** the infamous plot Naruto-is-Yondaime. And don't come to me saying it's impossible – I know that, I'm reading the manga. I just found the idea interesting, and while digging around the net for similar fics couldn't find even one which explained this particular plot in a plausible manner. So I decided to make my own. You can stop reading if this doesn't interest you anymore though. :)

On another note, this chapter was incredibly hard to write. I have at least double the length of this one in notes and plausible directions in which this could have gone, and had a lot of trouble deciding whether or not Yondaime should reveal himself or not. As you can see, I decided against it for now. His friends **will** learn of Naruto's true identity in time, but I want to go through the emotional trauma Minato is going through first, and get some other people's observations – like with Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi here.

I'd **really** like some constructive feedback on this. This is the turning point, and I'd like to know if you guys think I handled it well.

**Answers to questions you didn't know you had:**

**Q: Is the main character Naruto with Minato's memories, or has the seal completely changed him into the Fourth along with all the Fourth's power? Or is he now someone completely new altogether?**

**A:** NO. Naruto **is** Yondaime / Yondaime **is** Naruto. In other words. YONDAIME & NARUTO ARE ONE AND THE SAME. Personality changes will be dealt with accordingly.

**Q: the first part is confusing – you keep switching tenses. Why is that?**

**A:** It's meant to be confusing. It reflects on Naruto/Minato's state of mind when he wakes up.

**Q: Is Minato going to investigate the seal / Kyuubi further?**

**A: **Of course. As stated in the chapter, the seal isn't perfect, and he doesn't want any more contact than necessary with the demon.

**Q: Speaking of seals, who put the "whisker marks" seals on Naruto?**

**A:** Sandaime did. I'll explain later.

**Q: Are you going to do a "Kyuubi redemption" in this fic?**

**A:** Oh hell no. I like those kind of fics, but I think having a smartass **evil** demon will work better in this case. In my fic, **Kyuubi attacked Konoha because he felt like it**.

**Thanks for reading!**

**P.S: If you spot any stupid mistakes, please let me know. **


	9. Chapter 8: Masks

When his laugher finally abated, Minato sat down in the kitchen chair, feeling suddenly out of breath and energy

**AN: SPECIAL THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL BETA ****AYTHERIA**** without whom this chapter would not have been as good, as long, and definitely not out as soon as it is. .**

**AN2: **I would just like to remind everyone that the AN and Q&A at the end of the chapter usually explain things that are unclear in the story, unless they are part of the plot. Any questions you have though can be redirected to me :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. I only own the plot and original characters (and names). This is called **fan**fiction for a reason folks…

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/_words_: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream / memory

/_words_: memory sequence

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**Chapter 8 – Masks**

When his laugher finally abated, Minato sat down in the kitchen chair, feeling suddenly out of breath and energy. He had a headache growing, no doubt due to high stress. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, he brought down his hand from where he had thrown it across his eyes in an attempt to block out the sun.

Truth be told, he hadn't planned to confront Kakashi so soon, or anyone else for that matter. Yesterday, after deliberating briefly about his situation and feelings, and subsequently locking the majority away as a necessity, he'd felt the need to pay a visit to departed loved ones.

A few hours later had found him walking towards the outskirts of the village. The day had been bright and cheery, with a few puffy white clouds in the sky – the same shade of blue as his eyes. There had been a gentle breeze blowing, and birds singing in the trees; a picture perfect moment.

As he'd walked down the paved path, he'd thought for a moment about killing the birds. At that moment, there had been nothing to be happy about for him.

He first stopped at his parents' grave, and paid his respects. He told them a bit about himself and Konoha, but it wasn't too hard. His father had died during a mission when he was still a genin, and his mother a few years later, of a heart attack. She'd always been a fragile woman, and it was a wonder her constitution had even allowed her to have a child, if at all. He'd cried, of course, she had been his mother, and the greatest support in his life, and at the same time he'd been her source of happiness.

But after he'd burnt the incense and made his prayers, Minato couldn't bring himself to care too much, and felt an odd sense of detachment as he made his way farther down the rows of tombstones, to where unattached ninjas were buried with what family they had.

Uzumaki Kushina's grave sat next to her older brother's, both partially covered in a type of ivy they'd brought with them when they'd taken refuge in Konoha, after Whirlpool had been destroyed.

Minato vaguely remembered the day the refugees had arrived, starved and weak from the long, uninterrupted journey as they fled the armies of Iwa. It wasn't a well known piece of history – Whirlpool country had been rather small, and the newly founded ninja-village it was home to not yet noticeable.

But they had been allies of Konoha, and during the war had willingly served as a relay post where the weary Leaf-nin could stop and rest for a while. In retrospect, it was probably what had precipitated the downfall of the young village, and the subsequent massacre of most of its population. Konoha had sent as many as they could to help and retrieve the survivors to guide them to the village. It was the least they could do.

If he forced his memory a bit, he could remember seeing, among the weary-looking and injured people streaming in the front gate, a little red-headed girl, holding onto the hand of an older teen. She'd had her chin stubbornly stuck in the air, even as tears streamed down her cheeks seemingly of their own volition. Kushina had been among the few remaining academy students of Whirlpool, and he smiled wryly as he realized she'd captured his attention even then, if he could recall so many details after nearly forty years.

It was at that point that he'd realized he wouldn't ever see her again, and the dam broke. He collapsed on his knees, crying silently as tears streamed down his face. For the first time in sixteen years, Namikaze Minato grieved for the only woman he'd ever loved.

He didn't know how long he sat there, arms hanging limp at his side as tears fell to the ground, or when raindrops joined them, but he would have said it was a fitting weather if he'd been aware of it. He couldn't even remember falling asleep, collapsed by his grief. At that point in time, if anyone had been around to hear, they'd have heard the sound of his heart breaking into thousands of pieces.

But Kakashi had obviously found him, and returned him to his home, because when he woke up he could see a stain on the ceiling shaped like a rabbit wearing shoes. Although it might have been an elephant with a hat, he wasn't sure.

Seeing his old student so soon after remembering Kushina's death had almost been too much for him, and the raging emotions from the night before rose once again to the surface.

On one hand, he'd been very close to Kakashi as a boy, almost becoming a second father to him, and Minato had indeed seriously considered formally adopting him into the family. He'd cared for young Kakashi, and had taught him to the best of his ability, and was disappointed when Kakashi pushed his team-mates away. He'd been both overjoyed and incredibly sad when he'd arrived too late to save the young jounin's new-found best-friend, Uchiha Obito; finding Kakashi's outlook on life forever changed.

'_Children shouldn't have to fight a war.' _He'd thought.

On the other hand, Kakashi, by some incredible twist of fate (or meddling from a certain pipe-smoking Hokage), had ended up as Naruto's teacher. While he obviously cared for the blond genin, he'd mostly ignored him and Sakura, preferring to concentrate on his more gifted student Sasuke. Perhaps Kakashi was genially interested in the boy, or perhaps he thought he could repay his life-debt to Obito through his only surviving relative (Itachi didn't count). Whatever the case, Kakashi, as a jounin-sensei, had messed up. Badly. But everyone made mistakes, including Hokages, so he couldn't very well hold that against the silver-haired man.

Minato knew he was under a lot of stress, and he wasn't arrogant enough to think he was strong enough to deal with it, all of it, on his own. And although he'd almost told Kakashi everything, he couldn't yet; there were still too many things he needed to sort out, not the least of which was the seal.

He sighed. _'I can't do this on my own…'_ Something started hurting inside again, and he brought a hand up to his chest.

"I can't…" He choked on the words, his other hand tightening almost painfully against the cup of now-cold tea.

His mind was a mess of scrambled thoughts, and when the grief, pain and fear, the raw _hurt_ rose to the surface once more, he didn't even bother repressing it. Hot tears trailed down his cheeks once more, although he uttered no sound. Closing his eyes, he let them flow, allowing himself temporary relief.

If only Sandaime had been alive, he could have talked to the old man. But Sarutobi was dead, killed by his former student over three years ago. Minato was alone, at least for the moment, as alone as he'd been as Naruto in his childhood.

'_Sarutobi, my friend, why did you have to die?'_ He opened his eyes, looking out the window and towards the Hokage mountain, and something seemed to click inside.

'_That's right. I am, was, Hokage. I can deal with this. Maybe not now, and definitely not by myself, but I will get past this.'_

His mind made up, Minato stood up and wiped his face clean, gathering a brush, ink and scroll from various cupboards, before going back to the kitchen table. Dipping the brush into the ink-pot, he quickly etched a seal onto each corner of the scroll, blowing softly on it to make it dry, before channelling a bit of chakra into them. The seals glowed blue for a brief moment, before disappearing, seemingly absorbed into the paper. Minato smirked, the prankster in him nodding approvingly at his work – now, no one but him would be able to read what was on it without his express permission.

Those privacy seals were something he'd designed prior to becoming Hokage, and they were still used on important documents. This particular version, however, had been tweaked to answer only to a particular pre-determined sequence of chakra pulses, baring his chakra-signature. People would think this a bit much for a simple blank scroll, but considering what he was going to write down, Minato felt it was a necessary precaution.

Nodding to himself, the blond man started writing a list of things he had to do.

First, he had to finish the seal. Although the Kyuubi hadn't been awake for more than four years, Naruto had often used its chakra, and it was starting to wear down the seal.

'_I'll have to review my notes from then. My own memories are still too confused, and I can't afford any mistakes.'_ Minato frowned. His notes, or at least a good part of them, were kept in the Hokage's archives, to which he didn't have access yet.

He could ask Tsunade, but then he'd need to explain _why_ he needed those notes, and that would lead to questions he wasn't ready to answer yet.

Breaking into the archives was unthinkable – the security was top notch, as he well knew, having personally implemented some of the security measures and various traps and seals around it. No doubt it had been reinforced further since then, so that option was out.

'_But they didn't lock down my house…'_

Yes, that was a definite possibility. By the time he was a jounin, Minato had lived alone in the Namikaze Family House. He was intimate with the workings of the house wards, a lot of which were blood wards, and as such could only be broken by a clan member. That more or less guaranteed that no one had accessed the notes and journals he'd kept in his personal study.

'_I'll have to go there later.'_ He glanced quickly to a nearby rooftop, where he knew Kakashi had perched himself; no doubt on watch by Tsunade's order. Minato smiled slightly, vaguely amused. The smile vanished when his stomach growled. Loudly.

"Wha….? But I just ate! No fair!" Somewhere at the back of his mind, the Hokage part of him noted that he was _whining_, and that it was completely un-Hokage like. Naruto flipped a metaphorical finger at that part of him, rolling his scroll up and putting it away for working on later.

Checking his frog-shaped wallet, Naruto grinned. "Ichiraku ramen, here I come! Hehe!"

'_You're being rather casual about this whole situation.'_

Naruto's steps faltered for a moment. _'…Who the fuck are you?'_

'_I'm you, of course. Who do I sound like, the furball? Sheesh. Anyway, don't you think suppressing your emotions like that is a bad idea?'_

Naruto frowned, pushing aside the curtains to the entrance of Ichiraku's. It was only once he was sitting down and eating his first bowl of shrimp ramen that he replied to the little voice in his head – which, Minato idly noted, couldn't be very healthy either.

'_Well, it ain't healthy – you're exhibit A by the way – but I'm having enough identity issues as it is. I don't need all those extra emotions to clog up my judgement right now.'_

'…_That doesn't sound like something Naruto would do.'_

'_Well, of course not genius! I'm Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, remember?'_

The blond could have sworn there was an annoyed huff from the little voice. _'Well, you're also Uzumaki Naruto last I checked.' _Silence, then: _'This is confusing…'_

'_Tell me about it.'_

'_I already am, I'm you after all.'_

'_Great. Just peachy. I'm talking to myself.'_

A third voice, sounding rather like him when he was playing a prank, made itself known. '_Personally, I think that's the best way to deal with the current situation. You don't have someone you can talk to about…'_ - and Minato was under the impression the 'voice' was gesturing at its surroundings (whatever those were) – _'all this. You can only talk to yourself. Hence our presence. Sort of.'_

Minato couldn't help it. He groaned, dropping his head to the counter. He was officially insane, there was no way around it. The stress had been too much, and he'd finally cracked.

"Naruto…?"

"Heh?"

The blond raised his head from the wooden surface, meeting the concerned gaze of Ichiraku Teuchi. "Are you all right lad? You've been staring into space for a good ten minutes, and the ramen's gotten cold…"

The man trailed off as Naruto gave him a horrified stare. He'd forgotten his ramen? His eyes widened almost comically, before he started gushing out apologies, which Teuchi waved away.

"It's quite alright, Naruto. Just don't make it a regular occurrence, or I'll have to refuse service on account that you waste the food."

The blond looked terrified at the prospect, before Teuchi laughed and he realized he'd been had. "Maa, lad, I was joking. You're my best customer, you're entitled to be distracted sometimes. Now," and the ramen chef settled down in front of Naruto, pouring down some tea into cups that he'd produced from seemingly nowhere, "what is troubling you?"

Naruto looked at him for a long moment, and Teuchi smiled. "You don't have to tell me anything, but it looks like you need someone to talk to, so I thought I'd offer. Consider it a bonus for being the best customer I've ever had."

Minato considered the offer. On one hand, he really couldn't tell anyone about what was happening to him – it wasn't the kind of secret that could be kept for long of course, but once his old enemies heard about it, he'd have to be watching his back constantly. As he wasn't up to his old strength yet, it could be a problem, and he made a mental note to up his training regimen. Even within the village, he had enemies he'd have to be careful of, like Danzo. If his secret got out before he rectified the seal…Best not to think of that. And of course there was Akatsuki to worry about as well.

However, he was desperately stressed out, and needed someone friendly, but unbiased, and who hadn't known the Yondaime well enough to connect all the dots. Teuchi fit the bill perfectly, as unexpected as it was. He made a last half-hearted attempt at refusing.

"Your customers…"

Teuchi waved his concerns away again, indicating the currently empty booth and nearly empty nearby streets. "There's not much business at this time of day."

Minato smiled slightly. "Well…I've had a rather stressful experience recently. I don't know if anyone told you, but I was in the hospital all week." The ramen chef nodded, indicating he'd noticed his absence. "I…I know what's happened to me, but I can't tell anyone, not right now. I'm horribly confused, all I've ever known, all I've ever been _told_ was constructed around a lie, and…and I feel _betrayed_ Teuchi-jii-san. It hurts." His right hand clenched the fabric of his shirt over his heart, and in the early afternoon light filtered by the entrance flaps, Naruto looked so **lonely **that it almost physically hurt Teuchi to look at him right then. The teen's voice was hesitant, heavy with raw emotions and he periodically choked between words on silent sobs.

"My thoughts are completely scrambled. I tried, I _tried_ to take a logical approach to the problem. It's not like me but…well, it is too. Does that make any sense? It works, a bit. Sometimes. I…I…" A silent, choked sobbed racked his frame.

Teuchi's face was grim. He did not like seeing his favorite customer in such a state. "Drink your tea, it's getting cold," he said, lifting his own cup to his lips.

Naruto sipped at the warm beverage, grateful for the soothing liquid trickling down his suddenly dry throat. While the blond stared at his cup, clutching it like a lifeline, Ichiraku Teuchi remembered the only other time he'd seen Naruto in such pain.

It had been a little over ten years ago, when he and his wife and daughter had just opened shop in Konoha. They'd heard of the Kyuubi's attack by then, and through various indiscretions from the adult population, Teuchi had pieced together what had happened. As such, when he saw the blond child in dirty rags near the trash can, soaked by the pouring rain, he'd immediately recognized him as the 'Kyuubi no gaki'; the demon child.

At first, Teuchi just strode past, intent on ignoring the child like the bad news he'd heard he was. But after he'd dumped the plastic bags into the garbage containers, the child had gotten up, sneaking behind him as quietly as he could, reaching a hand towards the garbage. Teuchi had turned, intent on warding off the child – and he'd finally seen the truth.

This was no demon. This was a child, dirty from neglect, with dark bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep, and starved enough that he would consider digging in the trash for something to eat. Teuchi's heart had clenched painfully as his eyes met the soulful blue gaze, and he'd altered his actions mid-course, gently grasping the child's shoulder.

Naruto had flinched away, as if expecting to be hurt, and Teuchi had felt even worse.

"What's your name?" he'd asked.

"N-Naruto, mister." The voice had been frail, and full of pain and fear, but also innocent hope.

"Are you hungry Naruto?"

The child had nodded hesitantly, and Teuchi had led him back to the stand, lifting Naruto into one of the stools before setting a bowl of miso ramen in front of him. It was only later, after Naruto had left, that he'd realized the dark patches of dirt on Naruto's arms hadn't been dirt at all, but bruises. The next day, he went to the Sandaime, asking if it was normal for children to be abused and starved in Konoha. The old leader had looked rather shocked, before asking why Teuchi was asking such a thing. After he'd related his late night encounter with Naruto, Sarutobi's face had tightened in anger, and although he'd smiled and thanked the ramen chef, there had been something truly frightening in the eyes of the old man.

When Teuchi next saw Naruto, he looked a lot better, with clean clothes and a little less starved. It wouldn't be until months later that he would learn that, when he'd found five-year-old Naruto that night, the child had been living alone on the streets for nearly a year.

Teuchi stared across the counter, and for a moment it wasn't a sixteen year old quietly sipping at his tea who was sitting in front of him, but a blond, dirty, waif-like child hungrily scarfing down a bowl of ramen. His mind snapped back to the present, just as Naruto finished his tea, and he dutifully refilled it. Naruto inclined his head in silent thanks, momentarily puzzling Teuchi with this unexpected show of manners, before taking a deep breath and continuing in a quiet voice.

And so Teuchi listened, listened as Naruto told him of all he was going through, although he never explained just what exactly had happened to him. There were so many emotions warring to get to the surface, so many different thoughts. Naruto changed his whole demeanor and speech, switching between thinking patterns so fast that Teuchi was sometimes under the impression that there were two different people talking to him.

Naruto was still talking by the time the mid-afternoon customers started arriving, and so Teuchi left his daughter to man the stand while he led Naruto to the back and inside his house. He kept pouring tea, having lost count of how many cups the two of them had drunk by then, and listened some more. The blond had a lot on his mind, more than the ramen chef would have thought. He'd never pegged Naruto as the thinking type, at least not to such a degree, and he was one of those who knew him best. He was also amazed how, even though he was being completely honest and open, Naruto managed to keep hidden what had caused such distress in him.

The sun was low in the sky by the time Naruto had finished talking. Ayame had come in once, to ask her mother to help at the ramen stand, since her father was obviously unavailable, and another time to give the two some lunch, but those had been the only interruptions. Finally, Naruto stood up and waved his goodbye, thanking Teuchi profusely for his time. The ramen chef had replied that he was always available if Naruto wanted to talk, and he'd been rewarded with the most brilliant, genuine and grateful smile he'd ever seen on the blond's face. When Naruto had turned the corner and was out of sight, Teuchi reflected on what he'd been told.

Something terrible had happened to Naruto, something that had shaken him to his core, in a way much worse than when he'd learnt of the Kyuubi. He'd spoken of betrayal, implying with his words that the whole village had betrayed him, and not only that but they'd betrayed themselves. The words had been simple, without decorum, but they'd rung with such finality and **truth** that Teuchi had reeled back on his metaphorical heels.

At the same time though, it seemed Naruto was feeling…liberated. He'd related the feeling as being akin to finding a piece of yourself you didn't know you'd lost, and suddenly being complete. At times during his monologue, Naruto had lapsed into long silences, his eyes looking at a spot far-away, and it was at those times particularly that Teuchi had felt this explanation made the most sense; during those few moments, it had been as if someone else was sitting in front of him, someone much older in soul and mind than any sixteen year old had a right or reason to be.

There had been many, many other things, all jumbled together. Thoughts, feelings, ideas, half-formed sentences and absence, pauses and silences, all saying everything and nothing at all, all contributing to the confusion. Naruto had jumped from one subject to the next, seemingly without direction, simply following a stream of consciousness.

One topic kept coming back, although Naruto had skirted around the issue as much as he could. Whoever Kushina had been, she was an important piece of the complicated puzzle that was Naruto. He hadn't been told any specifics – it was incredible how much Naruto could talk so much yet say nothing at all – but he'd gathered that Naruto had been very much in love with her, and still was apparently. The raw hurt and loss in the blue eyes when he'd let out those little snippets about the fiery-tempered woman were soul-deep. Those weren't wounds that would, or could, be healed in a few days, or even years. Teuchi suspected that Naruto would still be hurt even if given two lifetimes to recover.

Even without this, he could tell that something was very wrong indeed, but Teuchi would not press his friend into talking anymore than he wanted to. He'd become aware of their silent ninja watcher sometime during the conversation – one didn't live in a shinobi village without picking up some tricks after all – and knew the blond probably felt a bit smothered by his well-meaning friends, who would most likely start pressuring him for answers as was their habit when the blond kept secrets. Teuchi wouldn't be like that; Naruto could damn well take his time, and Teuchi would damn well be waiting.

His decision made, the ramen chef had stood up and made his way to the stand, greeting his late-night customers as cheerfully as any other day.

**oOo**

Minato sighed contentedly as he walked down the street, rubbing his full stomach in satisfaction. Talking to Ichiraku's owner had helped a lot for his mental health. He couldn't say he was completely healed, but he'd started the process – at least the voices in his head had quieted down. If this was the effect having someone listen to you without any expectations had, he predicted many more talks with Teuchi-jii-san. He chuckled.

'_I'm one to talk, I'm technically as old as he is.'_

Hands behind his head, Naruto whistled cheerfully, ignoring the glares and whispers that followed him as he walked through Konoha. Although, to be fair, there were an equal amount of confused looks as well at his 'new' appearance. He almost snorted at that. Now that his 'whiskers' had disappeared, a lot of people did a double take – a lot of them were from the older generation, the one that had seen or grown up with the Yondaime - although some from the younger generation did look at him funny. Those people couldn't help but make the connection, and probably weren't liking the implications, although Minato doubted any of them would arrive to the right conclusion. Whether they didn't like their conclusions, or what they'd done in light of those conclusions, he wasn't about to start guessing. He had enough on his plate as it was.

Of course, that didn't stop the usual happenings. A few people tried to throw things at him on top of the insults, but today he dodged them, and to the most vicious he directed a low killing intent. He grinned as one of those more idiotic civilians stumbled back in shock and soiled himself. This was not something Naruto would have done, but Minato wasn't going to stand for it anymore. Besides, the prankster he had been as Naruto, although calmed down throughout the years, appreciated the humor of the situation, and Minato himself wasn't completely innocent of his own prank record.

This was something else he'd noticed: he kept alternating between referring to himself as Naruto or Minato. It had been frustrating and confusing this morning, but now it didn't bother him as much. It was still strange, to think of himself as two separate people.

'_No, that's not quite right. I'm not two separate people. Rather, the 'me' of now is a combination of both Naruto and Minato.'_

The keys jingled as he opened his apartment, closing the door softly behind him. Mechanically, Minato started cleaning out the apartment, wiping the tabletops and collecting whatever trash was on the floor.

'_I haven't been Minato, Yondaime Hokage, for sixteen years now. I don't think I'll ever be that person ever again. I have been Naruto, hyperactive ninja for too long for that to happen, but…I can't be him anymore either…'_

He side-stepped a chair, getting water from the kitchen tap before moving about the three-room apartment to water his plants, finishing with the ones in his bedroom as he contemplated who he was, his thoughts now calmer and emotions more under control.

'_I think…I'll be both. I am Minato, but…I'll be Naruto for a little while longer.'_ He smiled ruefully. _'It's like I'm a teenager with a child's heart and an adult's mind. How strange.'_

And for some reason, he found himself happy over this, relief flooding him as he sat down on his bed to watch the sunset. He didn't feel any better about confronting his precious people, but at the same time he didn't feel as scared by the prospect as he had been.

The next day went well, all things considered. He didn't exactly sleep peacefully – who would? Thoughts of all the trouble that awaited him, and more, kept coming to mind, but mostly it was thoughts of Kushina, her laugh, her smell, her smile...and that thrice damned stubbornness of hers which had endeared her to him, and ultimately cost her her life. He kept reliving memories of their encounters, some more pleasant than others – the time she hit him for pranking her brother, their first date, the first time _she _pranked _him_, the time they'd been sparring and she'd accidentally flashed him, their first kiss…But no matter the memory, they would all end the same way: in fire and tears, blood colored eyes and evil laugher dominating the background.

After the tenth time this happened and Minato woke up in a cold sweat, only to fall asleep again, exhausted mentally and physically, he took a dose of sleeping pills – not recommended for ninja, but he really needed to sleep if he was to start his plans tomorrow. He'd come to the conclusion the night before that what would come, would come, and that he'd deal with it when it happened, as he'd been doing for the past sixteen years. After all, why change something that worked? Even if it **had** gotten him into trouble before.

The first thing Minato did was prepare some cup ramen for breakfast – comfort food was the best excuse for being lazy ever invented. He hadn't been particularly fond of the salty noodles when growing up the first time, but his tastes had been completely reinvented as Naruto, and he wasn't going to complain. Having happily slurped down five instant ramen cups, and a glass of milk, the blond got ready for the day.

His first order of business was getting into his old house to look at his notes. That would probably take him a long time, and he couldn't afford to have anyone watching over his back as he did this. A kage bunshin could probably fool Kakashi (who he could still feel outside his apartment, along with a vaguely familiar chakra signature), but it wouldn't be long before the jounin detected the subterfuge. He had taught his sensei quite well…

His thoughts grinded to a halt, as he tried to organize his thoughts after that last bit. Apparently, he wasn't quite as ready as he'd thought when it came to dealing with his precious people. The idea – fact – that he'd been his sensei's sensei…was just plain weird.

'_Dammit, not this again.'_ Minato resisted the childish urge to bang his head against the bathroom wall. He would need all his brain cells if he was to succeed in fooling his well-meaning – but unwelcome – watchers, and Naruto's childish nature couldn't interfere today. This was no time to be playing pranks…

'_Wait a minute…That's it!'_

Minato grinned, the prankster personna in him coming to the surface once more. A prank was _exactly_ what he needed. Everyone around him needed to be reassured he was fine, and what better way to do that than playing a wide-scale prank? And it had the added bonus that it would make them bring down their guard enough that they wouldn't suspect the Kage Bunshin deception he was planning to use. Naruto's eyes gleamed as he rubbed his hands in anticipation: this was going to be **fun**!

Getting the idea for the prank wasn't hard. Naruto was a notorious prankster, and Minato was mischievous by nature. Planning and preparing for the prank however took longer than necessary. He had to get the materials for it, and using a henge to be able to buy things at a normal price definitely didn't sit well with him. Ninja, as an unspoken rule, tried not to use their powers on civilians when inside the village. Naruto supposed it was justice, but the part of him that was Minato wasn't very happy about it, or the civilians for that matter.

He made sure to be as inconspicuous as possible when doing his shopping – he didn't want his 'guardian angel' to become **too** suspicious yet. The only interruption was when he met Sakura and Ino. That…had been rather strange.

Minato suspected that one of the main reasons he'd had a crush on Sakura when he was younger was because she looked a lot like Kushina. Seeing her running up to him with Ino in tow tugged painfully at his heart, and he had to force a fake grin on his face. He was pretty sure it _looked_ fake too, but he didn't have the time to do more before Sakura engulfed him in a hug.

"Naruto!" she exclaimed, obviously happy to see him.

He stiffened, and apparently Sakura sensed this. She stepped back, a questioning and slightly worried look in her eyes. Naruto widened his smile, feeling sick as he stared at her familiar face.

"Hi, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl didn't look convinced, and truthfully he hadn't expected to fool her. He just hoped she wouldn't pry too much – he could barely hold up his mask as it was. Thankfully, before she could start asking him what was wrong, Ino caught up with them.

"Naruto! Hey, you're finally out of the hospital! You had us worried for a while. How are you feeling now?"

Sakura shut her mouth as Ino and Naruto engaged in a casual conversation, the blond haired girl easily dominating the situation as she'd done so often before. Ino asked him when he had gotten out of the hospital – she'd been out on a mission with Sakura and Lee apparently, and so didn't know he'd 'escaped' illegally - what he'd been doing (resting), how he was feeling (fine, thank you, but hungry), what he was doing right now (shopping), and if he had any plans for later (training mostly – he wasn't about to tell them what he really had in mind). It was mostly Ino talking, with occasional answers from Naruto, and Sakura periodically trying to stir the conversation back to the initial topic. He knew he was acting quite a bit out of character, but he figured he could get away with it for now. He wished Ino would hurry along though, and take Sakura with her.

He liked the two girls, he really did, but right now he could do without reminders of what he'd lost. He got an idea of how to do that when Ino started talking about how she needed new shoes.

"Actually, I saw this store a few blocks back, it had this huge 'SALE' sign next to it. Maybe you…"

He didn't have to say any more; Ino squealed, thanked him in a rush and dragged Sakura with her before the other girl could get a word in beyond 'bye'. He snickered: the Yamanaka heir's obsession with shopping was near-legendary in Konoha.

'_Must be something she got from her grandma. Mamori-baa-san always liked shopping a bit too much.'_

Minato grinned a bit as he remembered the now-deceased Yamanaka Mamori - born Anezaki Mamori - and Inoichi's mother. She'd been his mother's cousin, and had visited often, occasionally bringing her young son with her. He hadn't paid much attention to her really, but she'd always been nice to him, and he could safely say that his fashion-sense was mostly due to her influence. The fact that she never said anything when he and Inoichi played pranks on Shikato (or anyone else for that matter) was an added bonus.

'_Must be something she got from that civilian friend of hers…what was his name again? Himura? No, that's not right. Ah, Hiruma! Scary guy with an obsession for explosives. Wonder what happened to him…'_

Lost in his thoughts of the past, Minato nearly bumped into someone else. He lifted his head to apologize to the person who'd been knocked down, when he realized just _who_ he'd bumped into.

It was Tenten, Kazuma and Sachiko's daughter.

So soon after seeing Sakura, and being reminded of his lost love, he couldn't bear to look at his friends' daughter, and Minato panicked, taking off to the rooftops, shopping bags in hands, and not even bothering to apologize in his haste to get **away**.

**oOo**

Higurashi Tenten grumbled as she picked herself off the street, Lee giving her a hand up.

"Thanks. Where's the asshole who knocked me down?" She asked.

Lee turned towards his other team mate, and Tenten looked askance at Neji. The Hyuuga was standing there, his gaze on the rooftops and a look of concentration on his face. When it became obvious Neji was not going to answer, Lee turned back to Tenten.

"It was Naruto-kun."

Tenten was baffled. "Naruto?" A nod. "And he just fled without saying 'sorry'?" Another nod. She frowned. "That doesn't sound like him."

"There was something wrong." The two turned to their white-eyed team mate, who'd finally torn his gaze away from where Naruto had made his escape to. Tenten rose an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, Neji-kun?"

Neji frowned slightly. "There was fear and…grief in his eyes, and he was tensed, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment."

Lee and Tenten glanced at each other nervously. They didn't doubt Neji's observational skills – the Hyuuga had one of the best eye sights in the world, and their body-language reading skills were near-legendary. It was what made them such formidable opponents, both in combat and politics.

What did disturb the group though, was that Neji **had** been able to read Naruto. The Hyuuga prodigy had admitted, sometime during the three years Naruto had been away, that the blond was someone he couldn't read, no matter how open he seemed to be. It was, he'd said, something only high level ninja could do, and even then those people weren't as carefully guarded as Naruto was.

"Maybe we should see if he's all right." Tenten suggested, as she started in the direction Naruto had taken off. Lee wasn't far behind.

"Yosh! The fires of youth burn brightly in you Tenten-san! We will support a comrade in need with our youthful presence!"

Tenten rolled her eyes, used to this behaviour by now, and Neji was tempted to imitate her. Instead, he turned his attention back to his teammates.

"Wait."

Tenten and Lee looked at him askance, wondering why Neji would hold them back. He was, after all, one of those Naruto had grown close to in the year or so the blond had been back, and Neji was fiercely loyal in return.

Seeing their looks, Neji elaborated. "Hatake-san already went after him. Our presence would be…unwelcome."

Tenten looked like she wanted to argue, but surprisingly enough Lee stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking his head. It still amazed Neji how his self-proclaimed 'eternal rival' trusted him so implicitly. Tenten huffed, before finally relenting.

"Fine. But I think we should tell the others. Naruto needs us, and I, for one, won't let a friend down when he's obviously distressed." A pause. "Especially if it's Naruto."

The other two agreed: the rookie nine would want to know what was going on with their hyperactive friend. After a last glance back, Team Gai walked away in search of their younger friends.

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**Author's notes: **ahem. Yeah. Slow development in this, but it was quite necessary. Actually, the whole story is slow, and Aytheria (my wonderful beta!! .) made the remark that some of my more impatient readers would like some more action. I'll do my best to incorporate that in the next chapter(s) but as I said early on in the story, this is an **experiment** to **explore** a theory. Action takes the backstage to character development.

Also, I'd like to apologize for the wait. Even though my beta has freakishly fast beta-ing abilities, I'm a rather slow writer, and my own life is getting a bit full right now. I have to find a job, and set up interviews, plus getting a residency, so it's not easy to find time to write as much as I did before.

**Q:Whirlpool's history?**

**A: **I only heard about Kushina being a former Whirlpool country ninja, and we haven't seen or heard anymore about the country. Considering it's not on the map anymore, my guess is it was obliterated at some point. Kushina living in Konoha gave me the idea that they were an allied country / village, hence why I said what I did. On the other hand, this is all either speculation or complete invention on my part, so if Kishimoto said otherwise in newer chapters, just consider it part of the AU.

**Q: But you said Kushina was just an academy student. How could she be a former ninja then?**

**A:** My opinion is that as soon as they become academy students, the children are considered ninja. Kushina just finished her education in Konoha.

**Q: You keep switching between Minato and Naruto? Which is it?**

**A:** 1) Go read the previous chapter. 2) I write rational people a lot better, so the Minato part of his personality will become dominant as time goes by. I am in no way erasing Naruto though – I just don't want to be accused of making him OOC, so I'm using the unknown 'Minato' more.

**Q: Anezaki Mamori and Hiruma? I know those guys from somewhere…**

**A: **You would. They're from Eyeshield 21, one of my favorite manga/anime show. :) I'm just borrowing them for the fun of it.

**Anyway, thank you for reading, and leave a review if you can – it cheers me up, lets me know what I did right and what I did wrong, and generally motivates me. Cheers! **


	10. Chapter 9: Fortitude

As soon as Naruto took off, Kakashi launched himself after him,

**SPECIAL THANKS TO MY WONDERFUL BETA ****AYTHERIA**** without whom this chapter would not have been as good, as long, and definitely not out as soon as it is – take a minute to thank her in your reviews folks! **

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. I only own the plot and original characters (and names). This is called **fan**fiction for a reason folks…

"Words": normal speech

'_Words'_: thoughts

/ _words _: unsaid words

**words**: emphasis

_words_: emphasis /dream / memory

/ _words _: memory sequence

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**Chapter 9 – Fortitude**

Kakashi launched himself after his student, dodging around chimneys and watertanks across the rooftops of Konoha. But even though he was using a good portion of his jounin speed, the silver-haired man was hard pressed to catch up with the blond, and it only confirmed his suspicions.

He'd started having doubts as to the identity of the other when talking with him that morning, an impression which was reinforced by the later realization that Naruto didn't call him sensei as he usually did, even after all those years. Seeing the blond going around town and using a henge to trick the shopkeepers, something Naruto would never do, had started ringing alarm bells, and Kakashi had grown increasingly suspicious with the various little clues the man had left during the day. His behaviour had been 'off' for the most part, coming across as part-Naruto and part…someone else.

Kakashi knew he should have alerted the Hokage, or even signaled the ANBU, but something had stopped him, an increasing familiarity with the patterns that were emerging in 'Naruto', and so he'd stuck around and observed. The last altercation with Team Gai, and 'Naruto''s reaction had decided him, and Kakashi was now in pursuit, although he was still willing to give the other a chance to explain himself. _One_ chance.

Kakashi caught up with the blond just as he opened the door to his apartment, and he rushed inside, slamming the man face first against the wall and hands held behind his back.

"Who are you?!" he growled.

The man hadn't reacted when Kakashi had attacked him, and even now refused to defend himself. "What the hell Kakashi? What do you mean?"

"You're not Naruto, who **are** you?" Kakashi repeated.

The man stiffened, before replying, disbelief clear in his voice: "I don't understand."

Kakashi tightened his grip, ready to knock out the other at a moment's notice. "You're a good actor, I'll give you that, but you're not Naruto. You don't act like him, talk like him, you're _nothing_ like him! Now," and Kakashi twisted the arms of the man a bit more, "I'll ask one last time: who are you?"

There was a moment of silence from the blond, and Kakashi tensed, ready for an attack, but it never came. Instead, 'Naruto' chuckled mirthlessly.

"Is that it? Just because I'm not acting like usual you think I'm not…me?" Another mirthless chuckle, slightly hysterical. "Really, Kakashi, are you sure you know me as well as you think you do?"

Kakashi frowned, but the man kept on talking: "If I prove to you that I am who I should be, will you let me go?"

The jounin didn't have the time to reply before the man in his grip flared a bit of _very_ recognizable chakra – the Kyuubi's chakra, which only one person in the world could so use. Kakashi let the blond go, stepping back with his eyes wide. "Naruto?"

Said blond chuckled, massaging his abused wrists. "You know, that's the second time in as many days you've seemed to question my identity. Do try not to make a habit of it, ok?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the other, still suspicious. Even though it apparently **was** Naruto, his observations were still valid: there was something very strange going on with the blond, and he was determined to find out what. But when he asked his old student straight up, he didn't get much of an answer. Naruto just waved him off, saying it was just some bad milk he'd drunk.

Kakashi knew he'd been lying – something like that hadn't happened since Naruto's early genin days - but admitted defeat anyway, knowing he wouldn't get more out of the blond unless he physically threatened him. And that was a line Kakashi was not willing to cross. _'More questions to add to the list of things to ask I suppose.'_

More prodding had revealed nothing, and he'd eventually left Naruto alone. Now, having left Ebisu (who had _finally _shown up, fifteen minutes late, the irony…) on watch in his stead, Kakashi made his way to the Hokage's office, intent on delivering a most troubling report.

**oOo**

As soon as his old student- sensei- _**Kakashi**_ had left, Minato closed the door and scowled a bit as he was finally alone in his apartment. He hadn't planned on meeting any of his friends, hadn't wanted to really. But the encounter with the two girls had let him know he could deal with it if necessary, even though his acting skills needed to be improved. If Ino hadn't been there, he was quite certain Sakura would have at least dogged his steps until she found something out; or until he cracked and told her something - anything. At the moment, spilling his secrets wasn't very appealing – he could think of a dozen different reasons why off the top of his head, none of which were pleasant.

Running into Higurashi Tenten, the girl who he'd seen as a tiny baby, held in the palm of his hand even - and who was now 'officially' older than him…well, he wasn't happy with his reaction. It had been more instinct than anything else, and Minato was sure it would raise suspicion, as evidenced by Kakashi's 'interrogation'. Having friends was great, but if he acted even slightly out of character, they noticed, and being noticed was the last thing the ex-Hokage wanted at the moment. For an attention seeker such as Naruto, it was quite the foreign concept.

Setting down his dropped supplies on the nearby table, Minato formed the familiar cross-shaped seal of Kage Bunshin, creating three more clones. One set about making lunch, while the other two cut the paper he'd bought in three by two inches long strips, setting them into neat stacks. Satisfied that the clones would get the job done, Minato sat down and started back on his list, writing things down as they came to him.

_2. Find out what happened to Rin_

That was something which was really bothering him: not even once in his recent memories as Naruto did he recall spotting a woman matching Rin's description. The thought that she may have died in the aftermath of the Kyuubi's attack settled like a cold stone in his stomach, and Minato felt ill. He'd never liked losing friends, or even people he just knew in passing, and that protective streak had only grown with him becoming Hokage, whereupon he was literally responsible for the whole village, ninja and civilians alike.

Shifting a bit in his seat, he looked briefly out the window at the late-morning sky. _'I'll have to make a stop at the hospital.'_

Thinking of the white building reminded him that he had to see Tsunade at some point during all this, and he quickly wrote it down as well, smiling as he added a small note next to it:

_3. Talk to Hime-nee – can't avoid it forever_

The Godaime was sure to be quite angry with him, and he shuddered at the thought of her temper. He'd have to make sure he didn't see her while Sakura was there too – one angry super-powered kunoichi he could take, but two…Minato sweat-dropped. _'No way in hell am I doing that. I like living, thank you very much.'_ There was a pause, during which one of his clones got distracted while paper cutting and dispelled itself, and Minato absentmindedly created a new one, sending it as replacement with a mental command.

'_Kushina had a temper too…'_

Before his thoughts could take a darker path, the blond shook himself, concentrating back onto the scroll in front of him and writing down the next point.

_4. Enemies_

Now, wasn't that interesting. While he didn't like thinking about it, he knew he was bound to encounter some of his old enemies during missions, and once he revealed himself for who he really was, assassination attempts would shoot right up, from both inside and outside.

Oh yes, he may have been the Yondaime Hokage, and could very well be again, but while popular, he wasn't liked by the whole of the population. Danzo was just the most flagrant of examples. Orochimaru was close second, and there were many ninja and civilians alike who held grudges against him – the same way they'd held a grudge against Naruto because of the Kyuubi. And of course, there was Akatsuki to account for, not to mention any other enemies he'd made as Naruto. Minato snorted inwardly. As if that had ever stopped him before.

Nevertheless, it brought to attention an important point, namely his current level of strength: he'd definitely have to get stronger if he wanted to live longer.

"We're done boss."

The clone's words brought him out of his thoughts, and Minato moved his attention to the pile of paper strips on the other side of the table. He grinned.

"Excellent. Start inking the seals, and take your time. It's been too long since I grafted one of those."

One of the clones snorted. "Yeah, well, they aren't exactly _that_ complex. I'm sure we can handle it boss."

Minato fixed his clone with a stern glance, wondering if he was always that pigheaded. "Just be careful. You'll just dispel if you blow this thing up, but me and the apartment don't have that luxury. _Capiche_?"

The clones saluted, smearing ink onto their faces and hair as they did so. "Hai, boss!"

Minato rolled his eyes again. Sending out a tendril of thought to the third clone, he could tell lunch was almost ready. Good, he'd need his strength for what was coming up next.

Back to the problem at hand: training.

Minato frowned, staring at the fifth item on his list: determining his current level. Which meant training. Lots and lots of it.

He had a fair guess of his abilities at the moment, but then again Naruto had never really bothered measuring his skills. It was mostly sheer stubbornness that had gotten him through most of his battles, and only recently had he started analyzing his actions and thinking ahead more than he usually did. Minato scowled. Jiraiya was not a nice teacher, but he was a good teacher. However, training him to use the fox's chakra was a mistake, especially when it obviously imbalanced the seal. He'd need to have a long talk with his former sensei when he'd cleared up his real identity and all the crap that was sure to come with it.

Going back to his original train of thought, Minato thought of all he needed to do.

Well, until he'd dealt with the seal and Kyuubi in a more permanent manner, genjutsu and most ninjutsu were out. He didn't have enough chakra control right now to even attempt most of the things in his personal library, much less his most famous and powerful technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu.

Fūinjutsu wasn't a problem, as demonstrated by the clones' usage of it, except he'd rather be sure he could do it properly as opposed to blowing himself up because he'd bypassed one little detail in his haste. There was a reason seal grafters were rare, much less seal masters such as he or Jiraiya. Not many had the gift and patience to master the discipline, and even less were willing to take the risk of being blown up because of a slight mistake in the curve of a character or an out-of-place alignment. The difficulty of the subject deterred many from going any further than the standard exploding tags and storage seals. The area Fūinjutsu was most used in was Hijutsu, the medical arts, and they were mostly stationary arrays or pre-prepared stasis tags, and the use of other types of seals in battle was practically unheard of, barring his own signature move.

'_Actually, it's a wonder the Hebi-teme didn't blow me to smithereens the first time he applied that __**Gogyo Fūjin **__on me back in the Forest of Death. He must have studied quite a lot to pull that off like he did.'_ Minato grimaced inwardly, recalling that Jiraiya had called it 'sloppy' when questioned about it later. _'A wonder indeed.'_

Just then, the third clone made his way to him, loudly telling him that lunch was ready before setting to check on the work of the other two. His stomach rumbling, Minato nodded and made his way to the dishes on the stoves, glad that there was no need to practice his culinary skills as well. A delicious meal of sizzling beef with strips of red capsicum and broccoli, along with soy bean shoots and white rice was awaiting him, sprinkled lightly with sesame seeds, and he dug into it with gusto, getting seconds and even thirds.

As he ate, the blond Hokage theorized Fūinjutsu was something he could re-train in with his shadow clones – he thanked the Kami again for his abnormally high chakra reserves, as without them he was sure he'd never be able to do what he was planning to do: train back to Kage level in all ninja disciplines in the space of a few months.

Yondaime sometimes wondered if he was a masochist.

**oOo**

Ino brought a finger to her chin, adopting a contemplative expression. "He _was_ acting a bit weird earlier, now that I think about it."

Sakura, sitting to her right as they all drank from the sweet tea Neji had served them, couldn't help but roll her eyes, but bit back the comment of "Gee, you think?" Instead she put down her cup and frowned lightly. "You say he reacted to you, Tenten-san?"

The other kunoichi nodded. "Yes. He looked really freaked out too."

"He also exuded a very strong aura of grief," added Neji.

"NARUTO-KUN'S FLAMES OF YOUTH WEREN'T BURNING AS BRIGHTLY AS USUAL!" Three guesses as to who that was, and the first two don't count.

Smacking her green-clad teammate lightly, Tenten calmly crunched on a cookie that had escaped Chouji. Kiba and Shino were sitting on the porch overlooking the small garden inside the Hyuuga compound, right behind Neji and Hinata.

The shy Hyuuga heiress was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, wondering if her long time crush was alright. "W-what do you think is wrong with him?"

Ino and Kiba shrugged, although most everyone else looked a bit concerned – one could never tell with Shino, and Shikamaru seemed to be sleeping where he'd sat under a tree. The genius yawned. "Mendokuse," he said. "If you girls want to find out so badly, why don't you just ask him?"

The answering (and resounding) "NO" that came from three mouths was enough to make even Lee's ears ring. When the males in the room had regained their hearing, Chouji asked Ino why not. Said blond looked at him as if he'd just _not_ asked her that, before starting to explain. Ten minutes later, and most everyone was wondering what she was talking about, with the exception of her teammates. Maybe.

When she was finished, Neji turned to the lazy genius. "Shikamaru."

"Nani?"

"Explain."

Shikamaru would have rolled his eyes, but it really was just too troublesome. He didn't want to explain either, but dealing with another Ino-style explanation would be much more troublesome so…

"She wants to stalk him."

"Hey!"

"What, it's true. You want to follow him around and observe everything he does, then analyze it in detail. Troublesome woman."

Ino huffed, but didn't deny it. Then, she got this very scary look in her eyes, and the males of the room shifted uneasily. Neji was more than a little worried when he noticed the same look in Hinata's eyes.

So started "Operation: Discover Naruto's secret" a.k.a stalking. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. _'Mendokuse…'_

**oOo**

Having finished his meal, Minato was ready to head to the training grounds to test himself, but before he could even get to his front door an ANBU materialized on his windowsill, summoning him to the Hokage's office – he had to resist the temptation of pointing out that _he_ was the Hokage _as well_, but then again he wasn't sure the man would have taken him seriously anyway, due to his already frequent claims on becoming Hokage. He sighed, wondering what he was going to tell his adoptive sister, but nonetheless jumped out the window and after the ANBU who was apparently escorting him there. A small smirk appeared on his lips.

'_Not trusting me to come on my own, heh?'_

When he got to the office, Shizune gave him a little frown, but gestured him through anyway. Minato smiled apologetically at her, and stepped through the door to the Hokage's office. Inside, Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi were waiting, and Minato suppressed the urge to turn and flee once again. He wasn't ready to deal with all three of them at once, not yet. Jiraiya shifted, looking at him intently and Minato averted his eyes. It didn't look like he had a choice.

"Naruto."

Hoping his acting skills had improved since that morning, Naruto raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck, his eyes squinting shut as he grinned nervously. "Huh, hey, Obaa-chan…"

Even from where he was standing, Naruto could see the vein pulsing on her forehead and the chronic twitching of her brow. _'Uh-oh. She's pissed.'_

"Naruto…"

"…Hai?"

Tsunade frowned. "What did I tell you about leaving the hospital without permission?"

Naruto gulped. He remembered that look. "Not to do it…?"

Kakashi and Jiraiya were obviously suppressing snickers, and Minato glared at them for a moment before yelping and ducking the thrown paperweight.

"PAY ATTENTION YOU BRAT!"

Naruto squeaked, snapping to attention and saluting, body rigid with fear. Tsunade wasn't just pissed. Oh no, she was _mad_. There were a few eyebrows raised at his reaction, but the Godaime mostly smirked, glad she could still have that effect on blond Hokage-wannabes. Then she proceeded to give him The Lecture. Naruto's ears were still ringing for five minutes after she'd finished, and he painfully brought his attention back to the blond woman.

"So, Naruto, any idea what happened to you?" The Godaime's voice had lost all playfulness now, and the other men in the room had straightened slightly as they paid more attention.

Minato really wanted to tell them, but it was too soon, he thought. It was probably stupid of him, but he wanted a bit more time to deal with all this. So he played stupid, something which Naruto had grown extremely good at. "Huh? Whaddaya mean, obaa-chan? All I remember was my birthday party – Kiba was drunk by the way, even started talking to Gaara voluntarily. And hey, where's he by the way? I haven't seen him around the village. Did he and Kankurou go back to Suna? Bet Shikamaru was feeling relieved. I can't believe he started dating Temari of all people, when all he ever says is "mendokuse" and she's as troublesome as they come you know–"

"Naruto!"

The sudden yell 'startled' him out of his ranting, and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, although he had no trouble faking fear of repercussions. "Right, uh, sorry. Um, what was the question again?"

The three other occupants of the room issued a collective sigh. Naruto was Naruto after all. "I said," Tsunade repeated, "what happened to you? Do you remember anything beyond the party?"

Naruto scratched his head, seemingly in deep thought. "Well, I remember being in pain. My face was kinda burning too. Then I woke up in the hospital with Ero-sennin next to me, and then I decided to go out for a stroll. I think it was raining, but I must have been more tired than I thought 'cause I just fell asleep next to all those stones…Hey, you should have someone clear that place out 'baa-chan, it's no good to have all those stones where people can trip on them!"

The tick on Tsunade's forehead was back, and Jiraiya slapped his forehead in exasperation. Kakashi smacked Naruto instead. "Baka. Those were gravestones."

"Eeeh?? You mean…I spent the night in a graveyard? Gah!" Cue the horrified shivers and wailing.

Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation – she could feel a headache building already. And she'd been worried about him? '_Stupid brat.'_

"Right, fine. Naruto. Naruto. Naruto!" the younger blond finally stopped his wailing and terrified babbling, looking at her with a bewildered expression on his face as if he'd forgotten she was even there. Tsunade sighed again. "Right. If you remember anything else, anything at all, you come directly to me, or Jiraiya, or Kakashi. Or even Shizune, got it?" Naruto nodded. "Good. Go home, or whatever."

With a bright smile, Naruto turned around and marched off. Just as he was about to close the door though, Tsunade spoke up again: "Oh, and Naruto?" he turned around, looking at her questioningly. Tsunade _smirked_. "You're on probation for three weeks." And closed the door with a well thrown extra paperweight. The resounding "NOOOoooooo" could be heard clearly through the five-inch thick door.

Chuckling, Tsunade waited until Jiraiya stepped away from the window, signaling Naruto had just left the building before turning to Kakashi, her eyes serious once again. "You were right, there is something strange going on here. I want you and Ebisu to keep a close eye on him. Report to me and Jiraiya, no one else."

Kakashi nodded.

**oOo**

As soon as he was out of sight, a rather out-of-character grin made its way onto 'Naruto's' face. He hadn't fooled them – not completely anyway. But he'd done good enough for the moment, and he even got a bonus out of it – the probation period would allow him to adjust at his own pace.

Jumping to the rooftops, Minato's hands formed a few seals for a crude genjutsu. He'd spotted green spandex at the edge of his vision when he left the Hokage tower, and he could also faintly smell Green Tea perfume.

'_Lee and Ino. Huh.'_

The genjutsu wouldn't fool the kunoichi for long, but she didn't have very good tracking abilities – he'd be able to loose them easily. His other watcher…not so easily. But that wasn't really important; the man was too arrogant to recognize what he saw for what it was, especially where the 'demon brat' was concerned. Snorting softly, Minato cast the genjutsu and vaulted over another chimney, doubling back and passing ten feet from the two chunin without them even noticing. His situation had its perks after all.

When he finally got to the training grounds twenty minutes later, Minato sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, but at least he had good reasons to do so. Without the proper chakra control – which he wouldn't get until he'd stabilized the seal – he was left with two fields to work in: Taijutsu, and Kenjutsu, both of which relied heavily on muscle memory, something which he'd definitely lost by being reborn.

It wasn't a well known fact, but Yondaime had been a kenjutsu master in his own right – simply because he was more taijutsu oriented in his more well-known battles didn't mean he never used weapons. By the time he'd been 14 (the first time around), he'd taken to carrying around a curved katana blade, with a slightly longer than usual handle, curved in the opposite direction from the blade's.

Minato wondered what had happened to the weapon – he didn't bring it with him that day he went to face the demon fox, but he was quite sure he hadn't left it at home either. Maybe he'd left it in his office? It was possible, but would it still be there?

'_I guess it all depends on what Sarutobi-ojii-san did with it after my 'death'._

No matter, he'd find the blade in time. It had always had the uncanny ability of finding its way back to him when he'd misplaced it in the past, and he could only hope that quirk was still in effect. It never occurred to him that the blade might be broken, or sold to a foreigner, no longer within Konoha's walls. It had, after all, been Uzumaki Kushina's first gift to him, and there was no way in hell he'd _not_ find it. He just would, and that was that.

His mind made up, Minato started in on his warm-up as he considered the last subject: taijutsu.

Now this, he'd need to work on. Naruto was conscious of the fact that his form was average at best, and sloppy at worst. For the most part, it was the result of years of neglect by the Academy instructors, as so many things in his life were, and until Iruka had warmed up to him he'd been mostly self-taught. By the time the kind chunin had tried to help, it had been too late, and he'd didn't have enough time in his schedule anyway, no matter how much he tried. Three years of training with Jiraiya (_again,_ his mind whispered) had helped, and his form had improved a lot, but it still wasn't up to par.

As he went through the motions of the first Namikaze kata, his arms and legs feeling clumsy and mal-adjusted to the flowing movements required of the style, Minato recalled that he didn't like Taijutsu that much – he'd always had a preference for flashy jutsus, and this had seemingly carried over in his second 'life'. However, as a jounin, and later (earlier?) Hokage, he knew that if he was to survive by more than sheer luck and the skin of his teeth, he had to develop his skills. Just like in the past.

He knew that Ebisu, the jounin-sensei of the Konohamaru corps, was watching, and so he had no fear that the taijutsu style he was using would be recognized. Starting the kata over again, and determined to get it right, Minato hoped no one who knew him would pop-in unannounced and that, if they did, he'd have enough advance notice to switch to a more regular taijutsu form. _'I'll have to go see Hime-nee again later, and convince her I don't need a baby-sitter,'_ he thought, careful not to glance in the direction of his 'hidden' watcher.

**oOo**

The next morning, the population of Konoha was subjected to one of Naruto's infamous pranks. You could hear the shrieks of surprise all over the place, even as the curses started.

Grinning like a loon, Minato jumped down from the telephone pole and in front of the seemingly-abandonned house. A few people passing by gave him weird looks, before hurrying away from the 'strange man', but he wasn't overly concerned. They were only civilians, and wouldn't see through the henge he'd used. Looking around one last time to make sure no-one was paying attention to him, Minato stepped forward and through the first set of blood-wards.

There was a moment during which he felt like pins and needles were piercing his skin all-over, but it was quickly past and his grin widened as he kept walking, knowing the wards had recognized him after over a decade of inactivity.

The front yard was small, but it felt like a jungle as no-one had bothered cleaning it in all those years. Minato however noticed a nearly-covered trail leading to the door of the place, and frowned slightly in confusion. Did someone make it past the wards? He shook his head. He had no remaining family, and the last person he could remember attuning the wards to was Kushina…

He shook himself once more – Kushina was dead and gone, and she would not approve of his mopping around for her. It didn't stop his heart from aching, or his eyes from stinging with unshed tears.

'_A shinobi must not show emotions.'_

The shinobi rule came back to him, and Minato pushed thoughts of the fiery-haired kunoichi out of his head. He'd always followed his own rules, and his old academy teachers had often told him he wouldn't make a good ninja. He smiled wryly, thinking back on the happier memories of his becoming Yondaime Hokage.

Ignoring the strange trail-that-shouldn't-be-there, Minato made his way to the door and turned the handle, stepping inside before anyone saw him. The inside of the Namikaze Family house was dusty and full of cobwebs in many places, but it was surprisingly neater than he'd expected. This time, Minato knew someone had come inside while he'd been 'away', although judging by the thickness of the dust layer it wasn't recent.

He was slightly more wary now, but walked in anyway, peering inside the rooms on the ground floor as he went – nothing seemed out of place, and when he reached for the various seals and wards that had been added to the house throughout the years – some by him, some by his predecessors – it was all working properly, if a bit slugishly, proving they hadn't been used for years, only laying dormant until he came. Trailing his hands along the walls and on the surface of the furniture, the Yondaime recalled happier times and memories of this place, when he'd still been just Minato, and not Yondaime-sama, or Minato-sensei, or the Yellow Flash of Konoha. Simpler times.

He had many regrets in life, he supposed, but meeting and falling in love with Kushina was not one of those, no matter how painful it was to think of all that could have been. She'd taught him many things, not the least of which was to live life to the fullest, never looking back, never having regrets. He'd tried his best to uphold those principles, if only unconsciously, and a true smile made its way on his face.

Minato made his way up the stairs and to the study, where he'd last left his notes on the Shiki Fūjin. The rest of the house was as dusty and invaded by spiders as the rest, and Minato disgustedly pushed away a particularly large cobweb out of the way as he stepped through the half-opened door to the study. The pins-and-needles sensation washed over him again, stronger than before as the additional wards and seals placed on the room reactivated and scanned him.

The place was a mess – literally. There were papers everywhere, scattered haphazardly and showing a clear urgency in the way books and scrolls were lying abandonned on the floor. A few ink blotches showed where he'd spilled the inkpots in his hurry, but no container remained next to them.

Weaving through the stacks of papers, overturned chairs and general chaos, Minato made his way to the windows and drew open the curtains, flooding the room with light – he didn't dare open them for some fresh air, much needed as it was. The current level of the soundproofing seals only worked as long as the windows were closed, and he didn't wish to attract anymore attention than necessary anyway – at least until he'd modified them.

What caught his attention though was the kunai planted on his desk, collecting dusk as much as the rest of the house but still sharp enough to reflect the sudden light. When he got close enough, Minato noticed that the kunai was pinning a note to the desk, addressed to 'Minato' in a spidery writing which left no doubt as to the author and supposed-intruder. The Yondaime smiled.

'_Sarutobi-ojii-san, you meddling old coot...'_

Grinning, Minato pulled off the kunai, absent-mindedly twirling it around his finger as he read the note:

_Minato-kun,_

_If you're reading this note, I'm assuming I've been dead for some time, and you've recovered your memories._

A sad smile appeared on the blond's face as he recalled the Sandaime's death, four years ago. It had affected him deeply, losing someone he'd considered family – his _only_ family at the time. He continued reading.

_I am truly sorry I had to do this. You may not remember, but the consequences of your reverting to an infant were slowly killing you, and I had no choice but to try. I hope you forgive me for all I'm sure you had to go through._

_If you're wondering how I got this here, I hope you still remember that you attuned me to the wards a few days before Kushina-chan, so I've hopefully been able to keep the place from falling down around you – you know how much I hate dust._

Minato chuckled once again, recalling the Sandaime was a clean-freak. He started to read again, leaning against the desk lightly.

_There are a lot of things I need to tell you, and even more that I wish I could, but there's only so much that can be written on one piece of paper. As it is, I'll have to stick with the essentials._

_First off, I'm sure you're questionning my not telling your true identity to certain people, and I can safely assume you've deduced why I haven't told some. Kazuma and Sachiko were extremely hard to convince too, but I didn't want to have them in trouble, as I'm sure you wouldn't. As for Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi, I don't have very good excuses I suppose, and for that I apologize. _

_Kakashi was too young to properly care for a baby – and I must sadly say that it took him nearly ten years to warm up to "Naruto". He threw himself into ANBU afterwards, and had me most worried – I believe that, to this day, he still blames himself for your death everytime he looks at your younger self. I do hope you can help him somehow._

_Tsunade left the village before I could even talk to her, and she only left a short letter behind to explain her departure – it is only my position as Hokage which prevented the council from declaring her a missing-nin, and she has refused all communication since then._

_As for Jiraiya, he took your 'death' hard, and it is to my great shame that by the time I finished dealing with the aftermath of the attack and could find time to talk to him, he was also gone from the village. _

_For those three, and many others, you have every right to be angry with me, but I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive an old man._

_On another note, the council has been pestering me about turning you into a living weapon, moreso than our own shinobi are – do us all a favor and fire those idiots at some point. It will at least give me a good laugh from beyond the grave._

_You may not be surprised that they tried to seize that which belongs to the Namikaze family – I've safeguarded it under the Sarutobi name. You can claim it back whenever you wish, although I've arranged it so all of it comes back to you by the time "Naruto" turns eighteen._

_If you're wondering where your notes on the Shiki Fūjin are, look into that drawer (you know what I'm talking about) for it. I added some concealing seals as a precaution, but if anyone has made it inside this house to start with, I don't think they'd be much use. Oh well. I've also put your original medical records in there – I've had to do some serious string-pulling to make sure no one would look too closely. The medic who goes by the name of Toriyama Fuji is a good friend of mine, and has promised to keep watch on you until you feel ready for the truth to come out. You can trust him, though I haven't told him everything, namely your true identity. I leave it up to you to tell him (if you ever do so)._

_The monkey contract is also in one of your desk's drawers – pass it on to my grandson Konohamaru if you ever meet him, he's a sweet boy – you'll recognize him when he tries to ambush you for the Hokage position._

_I wish you good luck with all that awaits you, especially if I'm no longer around to help you. You have a long road in front of you Minato, even longer than either of us imagined, but that's never stopped you before. I have every faith in you my boy. _

_Make me proud,_

_Sarutobi Sasuke_

_Sandaime Hokage_

Laughing and crying all at the same time, Minato tucked away the letter and, wiping his face, started clearing out the mess, finding the menial task to be both therapeutic and soothing to his still fragile state of mind. From time to time he would chuckle or smile or make a grimace as one clone or another was dispelled and he got their memories. He had a fair number of them running around Konoha, with about a third under henge to further help his disguise, and one of his Kage Bunshin getting dispersed by an angry shinobi (to whom his clone had made the remark that he looked absolutely _lovely_ in that particular shade of puke-green and neon-yellow) was quite amusing.

Tidying up the room, Minato sent a couple Kage-Bunshin through the house to do a general cleaning and taking stock of what was inside the house. He really wished he could take more time, but things were already going too fast. He'd overheard part of a conversation between two chunins at the gate that morning – something about more ANBU teams being sent out than usual, and restlessness in the northern countries where traders were starting to protest against the rise of taxes. Trouble was brewing, and Minato was running out of time and options.

"_You don't _have_ a lot of options.'_

The voice was back. Minato groaned._ 'You again? When am I going to be rid of you?'_

'_I'm afraid we're stuck together for life.'_

'_Ha ha.'_

'_I'm glad you appreciate my sense of humor.'_

'_Considering you're me, that's an insult if I ever heard one.'_

Voice #1, as Minato had decided to label it, huffed. _'Don't blame me if your sense of humor sucks. I'm just here for stress relief.'_

Minato rolled his eyes, browsing through the notes still scattered around the spacious study – he'd never been the most organized person, but this was ridiculously messy, even for him. Of course, the fact that he'd been scrambling around to adjust the Shiki Fūjin in the midst of the Kyuubi's attack hadn't helped.

A partially unrolled scroll, half-hidden under yet another stack of notes, caught his eye, and Minato moved aside the papers, only to reveal a seal that he was both cursing and blessing at the moment, the seal which was responsible for his current predicament. His own invention, the **Tsuchi-Joukai Rokuten Fūjin**.

Unbidden, the memory of the first and last time he'd seen this seal used surfaced.

**oOo**

/ He woke up feeling heavy and light at the same time, his senses dulled beyond recognition.

'_What the hell…?'_

There was a throbbing pain in his head, and it felt like someone had plunged a kunai in his guts and twisted it around, taking special care to make it as painful as possible. Not a pleasant feeling.

'_What happened? I don't remember.'_

The pain in his midriff dulled slightly, although his headache remained, and he groggily opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, and in an odd perspective, and it took him a moment to realize it was because it was all so oversized compared to himself. He contemplated the idea that he'd somehow been transported to Mount Myouboku to the Toad Palace, before discarding it a total of three seconds later. The feeling of that place was missing from…wherever he was.

Something moved into his field of vision, and he concentrated to clear it. His efforts paid off, as the something reformed into the smiling – if rather worried – face of one Sandaime Hokage.

'_Sarutobi?! What the HELL?! Did something go wrong with the sealing? Why aren't I dead?! Fuck, what about the village?'_

He was starting to panic, his emotions going on overdrive, and he fought to keep them under control. Fought…and failed.

"Whoa, no need to cry Minato! I'm here, calm down." Came the soothing voice of the old man, and he picked him up - and wasn't _that_ a wonderful piece of information – and made soothing motions on his back. He finally calmed down enough, gurgling in thanks.

'_Wait a second…since when do I __**gurgle**__? And I know Sarutobi isn't __**that**__ strong to be able to __**pick**__ me __**up**__!'_ He glared as much as he could at the Sandaime. _'You better start explaining Jii-san!'_

Upon seeing his glare, the Sandaime chuckled, before his expression switched to what Minato had privately dubbed as 'Hokage-mode', something he'd been told he also adopted when on the job, only that his eyes were apparently the scariest part. He had no idea what people meant when they said that. Pacing around the room while still holding him – he tried to ignore that fact for the moment - Sarutobi started talking:

"You'll be pleased to know that the Kyuubi no Kitsune is no longer a danger to Konoha, thanks to your valiant efforts."

Relief flooded him. _'Thank Kami-sama!'_

"But-"

'_Uh-Oh…what now?'_

"-the sealing on the other hand didn't go as planned." He glanced down. "I'm sure you've noticed things aren't as they used to be. It seems, in its desperation not to die, the Kyuubi did the impossible and defied the God of Death, effectively delaying its own demise."

'_What did it do?'_

As if hearing his thoughts, Sarutobi continued, a trace of humor permeating his voice. "You, my friend, have been turned into a newborn baby. Congratulations, it's a boy. Again."

'…_WHAT?!'_

"Let me explain, before you start to panic. The Kyuubi has been well and truly sealed, as you hoped, but it is my theory that it didn't die with you simply because your new body – which the demon provided – had barely developed chakra coils, which as such are able to accept and adapt to the youki, thus not killing you instantly.

"While this has preserved your life, the Shinigami cannot come and take your souls with him without use of another summoning. If you were to die now, the Kyuubi would escape unchecked, and I do not have enough strength to stop it, nor can Konoha suffer another attack."

The Sandaime stopped in front of the window, and he caught a glimpse of still-burning fires in the distance. It couldn't have been long since the sealing then.

"The council is demanding answers, Minato. However, I fear that if I tell them the truth, they will try and turn you into a merciless, emotionless killing machine. And at the same time, I cannot leave you as you are. Your memories and knowledge are that of an adult, not to mention the Hokage, and cannot be supported as active for long in a newborn's brain. I'm afraid I will have to seal them away, for your's and Konoha's sake. I'm sure you understand."

'_Of course I understand, but how are you going to do that? There aren't any seals that can manipulate the mind that way, except for that one prototype…..Oh no. No no no, you aren't thinking of using __**that**__ are you? They haven't been tested yet!'_

The strange telepathy they'd shared seemed to have disappeared, as Sarutobi continued, saying the exact words he'd rather not hear. "I will be using the **Tsuchi-Joukai Rokuten Fūjin**. I know it is untested, but I don't have much of a choice. Even though I am no medic, I can tell by my basic scans that if I leave your brain under such stress for at most two more hours, you will die. And I simply can't let that happen, not when you've been given a second chance."

Minato wasn't sure he liked where the conversation was going, and expressed his displeasure by scrunching up his face. _'Fuck it Old Man! There's a reason I told you the seal wasn't ready! I'm the seals master here! If you put that thing on me as it is, there will be consequences, damn you!'_

Nope, he really didn't like where this was going. Sandaime continued, ignoring his (mental) protests, turning his gaze back to the outside.

"I will be placing a secondary _jikoku_ seal with it, so that you may regain them when you hit the 16-years mark. By then, you will undoubtedly be strong enough to defend yourself, and your body should have matured enough that it won't break under the pressure." Sandaime looked back down, a contrite smile on his face. "Don't look at me like that Minato, the only reason I waited so long to do this is because I wanted you to hear this conversation so you don't delude yourself later into thinking this is just a big joke."

'_Oh yeah. Right. A joke. Of course. ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO YOURSELF OLD MAN?!'_

Of course, the only thing he managed outwardly was scrunching up his face and balling his fists. Sarutobi chuckled again, moving away from the window and back to the crib, which he suddenly realized was in the middle of a seal array – the **Tsuchi-Joukai Rokuten Fūjin**, complete with ceremonial candles. An impending sense of doom settled over him.

'_Well damn, he really __**is**__ gonna put it on me. Wait…what about my friends? Jiraiya-sensei? Kakashi!?'_

He never got any answers to these questions, and the last thing he remembered before searing pain and darkness was a whispered - almost imagined - "I'm sorry." /

**oOo**

Frankly, Minato didn't know if he should curse the Sandaime or not. The **Tsuchi-Joukai Rokuten Fūjin** may have prevented his death – again – and allowed him to escape the council's (and more importantly Danzo's) clutches, as well as preventing the Kyuubi's early release, but it had also messed up his mind, giving him a rather short attention span.

He hadn't been stupid per se, but a particular aspect of the seal was that it gave the user and/or victim the affects of minor dyslexia, making things that much harder to learn. Couple that with the neglect and downright discrimination from his teachers at the academy the second time around…

Aside from moments of sheer brilliance under pressure, where his mind went past the seal's influence, he'd been pretty much crippled mentally. That he'd gotten so far on sheer will and determination alone was commendable, and his survival to this point was nothing short of a miracle.

Minato raked a hand through his messy blond hair, absently noting the shriek of surprise from a civilian on the street – no doubt another victim of his prank. He grinned slightly, hoping it would be enough to distract his 'guardian angels'. Despite his talking to Tsunade, they still insisted on keeping a watch on him, even without any orders to do so in some cases. It was all good intentions, but it was quite restricting. He'd also noticed that he'd acquired quite a few more 'unofficial' watchers, whom he'd identified as the Rookie 9 (excluding himself and Sasuke-teme) and Team Gai.

He chuckled a bit as he thought of the younger generation – which he was part of now, and it still felt weird when he could remember going to class with _their_ fathers and mothers. His friends had taken to following him around a lot, whenever they didn't have missions or other duties, and there was always a minimum of two extra watchers. They'd also tried (unsuccessfully) to pry information out of him on multiple occasions – both yesterday evening and this morning – Sakura going so far as to treat him to ramen, which he'd gladly accepted before skipping out of the shop straight after he finished eating, thus not letting her ask any 'innocent questions.'

Of course, they weren't really bad at it – Ino, Shikamaru and Shino were actually pretty good at information gathering, especially the kunoichi. But they weren't quite at the level of Morino Ibiki, or even Anko, and to someone who'd once been part of ANBU and had learnt the trade in the middle of war, their methods were still quite rough.

'_They'll learn though – this generation promises to be much more powerful than their fathers.'_

Pausing in his shuffling of papers, Minato wondered what things would have been like if "Naruto" had really been his son, if he and Kushina had actually had enough time to form a family, and Kyuubi had never attacked. Would they have been happy? Would his son (or daughter) have surpassed him? Would he have been like Konohamaru, refusing to drown in his father's shadow? Or like Asuma, who'd just faded into the background? Would his child have his looks, or Kushina's bright red hair? Blue or green eyes?

'_So many possibilities, doors and windows closed all too soon…'_

A tear ran down his cheek, and he hastily wiped it away. No use crying over what was done and gone, right?

'_Right.'_

But still, Minato wished he could have known that child, and a small part of him ached at the thought that they'd never be born. He ignored it for the moment, wondering at the same time if Teuchi would have more tea for him tonight. He'd certainly need it.

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**Japanese translations:**

**Hebi-teme****:** Snake-bastard – Naruto's nickname for Orochimaru

**Genjutsu: **Illusion techniques

**Taijutsu:** Hand-to-hand combat techniques

**Ninjutsu: **Ninja techniques – mostly combat and evasion. **Kage Bunshin **and **Kawarimi** are ninjutsu.

**Fūinjutsu****: **Sealing techniques

**Kenjutsu****: **Sword techniques

**Hiraishin no jutsu:** 'Flying Thunder God technique' – the Yondaime's signature move, which earned him the nickname "Yellow Flash".

**Gogyo Fūjin****: **Five point seal – the one Orochimaru puts on Naruto back in the Chunin exams.

**Henge no jutsu: **Transformation technique

**Kawarimi no jutsu: **Replacement technique.

**Tsuchi-Joukai Rokuten Fūjin****: **Six-point seal of Heaven and Earth. If you haven't guessed, that's the whiskers marks seal. My own invention, right down to the stupid name. I'm going with "Heaven" – the mind, or memories in this case – being bound to "Earth" – the body, or a physical mark, in this case the seals. There are six points simply because that's how many 'whiskers' Naruto has in canon.

**Jikoku****: **Time

**Baka****:** Idiot

**Katana:** Japanese sword

**Kata****: **A pre-ordained series of moves in martial arts

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**AN: **Woot, I'm back! So sorry it took so long, but I've been very busy (and stressed) and it is likely to continue for quite some time. As such, I'd like to apologize to you all for the long wait, and the ones that will probably follow. Updates will come, just not as often as before. (sigh)

Anyway, this story will probably come to an end soon – we likely have about….five chapters left? Maybe? Not sure. Hope you guys still like it.

I'm sure you've also noticed there is no Q&A section in this chapter. That's becauseI've had several people point out that the Q&A is too long, and that I should answer individual questions as they come up, as it adds too much to my word count. I'll try to avoid doing that in the future – previous chapters will be edited slightly, so don't be surprised if it pops up in your alerts, k?

**Please leave a review – it feeds the muse(s), tells me what you think, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy so I can write faster! XD**


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